Engagement Troubles
by Stars of Gold
Summary: Drew has to find a fake fiancee so that his mother won't make him marry that horrid Marianne Fray - who has a nose bigger than a Probopass's - to gain his inheritance. Luckily May's there to help him out... contestshipping
1. Sandy Swellow

Engagement Troubles

By

Stars of Gold

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

**Prologue - Sandy Swellow**

My name is May Maple.

This is my story.

Heh. I've always wanted to say that, ever since I played that video game. You know, the one with the summoners and the aeons and stuff. Yeah. Oh, and the chocobos. Definitely the chocobos.

Anyway, this is my story. Yup, my story. My story of how I met Drew's entire family, that is.

Yeah. His family's pretty big.

...Screw that, it's freaking HUGE! Holy Ho-Oh, I don't know how everyone remembers them all!

But first, we go to the beginning; namely, the reason Drew brought me to see his family in the first place.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was a bright, sunny day. I was happily licking an ice cream Drew bought for me (he lost the contest we had recently entered, so I made him do it as punishment. Yes, this is our motivation for winning) when a Swellow swooped down and nipped Drew's hand affectionately.

"Is that you, Sandy?" Drew asked in surprise, holding out his arm for Sandy to perch on. Sandy the Swellow cooed appreciatively and perched happily on his forearm, rubbing her (I assumed it was a her; who names a male Pokemon _'Sandy'_?) head against his cheek lovingly.

"Hey, nice to see you again, Sandy. Got a message from home?" Drew turned to me. "Hey, May, could you help me untie the letter from Sandy's leg?"

I tried. I did. I reached for Sandy's leg, but she pecked my hand away and _glared_ at me. I swear, she did. "Um, Drew? I think Sandy doesn't like me," I said in a pathetic, getting-bullied-by-a-Pokemon voice. Drew sighed. "Sandy. And here I was thinking you'd gotten over this." Turning to me once more, he said, "She gets like this a lot. You know, with other females around me. Sorry I didn't warn you; I thought she was over it. Oh well, no harm done."

I cleared my throat loudly, holding up my injured hand. "_This_ is 'no harm done'?" I asked incredulously. Drew shrugged. "More or less."

"You self-centered jerk! I just got brutally attacked by a Swellow who's got a crush the size of Jupiter on you and you say _'no harm done'_?! I mean, come on, I know you're bitter from losing that contest to me, but that's no reason to turn away while I'm _dying_– "

"May, you drama queen. Sandy, you can go home now."

" – and act like you don't care 'cause I'm, like, your best friend, and I know you care about me and stuff so there's no bloody reason to pretend not to care just because you think it'll increase your sex appeal or something – "

"May."

By now, he'd already opened the letter and read through it twice to make sure of it's horrid contents, although I didn't know that until later.

I shut up.

It wasn't the fact that he said my name that shut me up. It was the look of horror plastered across his face. I think it even seeped into his voice.

"What's wrong, Drew?" Naturally, I was concerned. It seemed that Sandy only came with big news from his family, considering I've been traveling with Drew for like a year now and I've never seen Sandy. What if his father _died_?! What if his father was a victim of domestic violence?! Heck, what if his father died _because _of domestic violence?!?!

Drew looked at me with the most grave, somber expression I have ever seen on his face. I almost dreaded the words that would tell me of what horror had befallen his family.

And then he said, as if it were the apocalypse...

"I have to get married."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon. Nor do I own Final Fantasy X, which, of course, is the video game referred to in the beginning.


	2. Tickle Fight

Engagement Troubles

By

Stars of Gold

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

**Chapter 1 – Tickle Fight**

Drew looked at me with the most grave, somber expression I have ever seen on his face. I almost dreaded the words that would tell me of what horror had befallen his family.

And then he said, as if it were the apocalypse...

"I have to get married."

There was a silence.

Then I burst into laughter. I laughed for a good seven minutes, I swear. Yeah, I beat Drew's record of five and a half minutes. Hah. Take that, grasshead.

"Oh, Mew, Drew, that was hilarious," I chuckled as my laughter died down to the point I could speak normally, wiping tears away from my eyes. "Now," I said, sobering up. "What did it really say?"

Drew looked offended. And annoyed. Yeah, really annoyed. "I told you, May, I have to get married," Drew grumbled through his teeth, making a sour face.

My jaw dropped. "No way! Why in the name of _Lugia_ do you have to get married at _seventeen_?"

Drew sighed. "My family's rich, May. I don't expect you to understand, being of middle-class and all, but I'm turning eighteen in five months and my grandfather specified in his will that I have to be married by then. Otherwise, I can't claim any of my inheritance. Ever."

Originally I was going to yell at him for the 'May-you're-poor-and-I'm-so-much-richer-than-you' comment, but upon hearing the last word, my eyes widened. "Ever?" I breathed.

Drew nodded gravely. "Normally I wouldn't be concerned about riches, but if I don't get my share of wealth, my father will disown me." He looked away. "He's only keeping me around for appearance's sake, anyway. He thinks coordinators are useless," he said, mostly to himself, in a dark tone I didn't quite like.

My whole 'I-hate-Drew-because-he's-such-an-arrogant-egotistical-jerk' attitude went right out the window. "Drew..." I placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're a great guy, and a great coordinator, and if your father can't see that, then, well, he's just blind."

My attempt at cheering him up worked! Well, kinda. Not really. No. I actually think he didn't really hear me. Thanks for raining on my parade. Geez.

Since the understanding approach didn't work, I decided to take the childish approach.

I tackled him and started a tickle war.

Most people don't know this, but Drew is really, really ticklish. Seriously. Even if you accidentally brush the back of his neck, he gets goosebumps and jerks away from you with a yelp. He also got goosebumps when I accidentally brushed his crotch that one time, but that's different.

...Stop looking at me like that, it really was an accident! It's not like I _wanted_ to touch him there. Geez.

Anyway, I knew by now, thanks to the previous tickle fights we've had (mostly when he's trying to get me up obscenely early in the morning so we can leave) that Drew was ticklish the most: a) on his neck, b)the sides of his waist and c)on the soles of his feet.

Yup. I got him all sussed out.

Unfortunately, also due to previous tickle fights, Drew knows exactly where all of _my_ tickle spots are.

What? You want me to tell you? No way! What if you come with this big gang of fangirls to help Drew or something?

So I tackled him and tickled like I've never tickled before. Drew yelped. Loudly. And fell over on the ground with me on top of him, still tickling away to my heart's content. ("M-M-May! H-ha-ha! S-Stop tha-hahaha!")I knew I had to savour the moment, because once Drew regained his composure...

Drew flipped us over and pinned me to the ground, glaring at me. I knew he was feeling more cheery already because his eyes danced with amusement. "May, you have sealed your fate."

Then he mercilessly tickled me everywhere.

"HAHAHAHAHA-D-D-D-Drew you ch-ch-cheater-hahahaha!" I squirmed and tried to get away, but he had planted his knees on either side of my hips and blocked my way every time I attempted escape.

That didn't mean I couldn't fight back though.

"GYAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHA! M-M-M-May y-you s-s-sneaky f-f-f-f-f-fox! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

This went on for a long while.

A loooooooong while.

Long like 'half an hour' long.

We were both giggling when I surrendered. Drew smirked triumphantly, panting from the tickle fight. "I thought so!" Then he frowned slightly. "Wait, you've got some crap in your hair..."

Drew rested his weight onto his forearms to ease the load on his hands and leaned in close to brush whatever it was away and my breath hitched. I'm pretty sure my cheeks were redder than a Pikachu's; but I swear I saw at least a hint of a blush on Drew's face too!

Clearing his throat, Drew stood and flipped his hair, brushing aside the awkward moment as if it had never happened. "So, May, can you do me a favour?" he asked, still blushing.

I blinked. "Um, sure. What?"

Drew took a deep breath. I could have sworn that his blush deepened.

"Will you marry me?"

...

...

...

...

...

"WHAT?!?!?!" I screeched. I mean, seriously, when people ask favours from you they say, "Help me buy some potato chips," or "Pass the chilli," or even "Take care of my Chikorita while I'm away"! They don't ask you to _**MARRY**_ them!

"W-We can always get a divorce after I get my inheritance – "

"NO WAY! I'M NOT ABOUT TO GET MARRIED TO AN ARROGANT, EGOTISTICAL DOUCHEBAG AT THE AGE OF SEVENTEEN!"

Drew backed away a step or two, covering his ears. "_Zapdos_, May, your screech is even worse than a Pokemon's," he grumbled. I opened my mouth to retaliate, but he slapped a hand across my mouth before I could say anything.

"Look," said Drew in a weary fashion. "If you don't want to marry me, you could at least _pretend_ to be my fiancee until I find another girl."

Somehow, even though I didn't like the idea of marrying Drew, I disliked the idea of being a stand-in even more. I wrenched his hand away from my face and began to scream.

"Oh, so now I'm a _placeholder_?!?! I can't believe your _nerve_! This is such an _insult_! I can't _believe_ you expect me to _pretend_ to be your _girlfriend – _"

"Fiancee."

"WHATEVER! The point is that you want me to pretend to be your bloody _fiancee_ just so you can _replace_ me later on – "

"Well, if you _really_ want to _marry_ me, I'm game," snorted Drew, crossing his arms. "Celebi, May, what the hell do you suppose I do? I ask you to marry me, you scream. I ask you not to marry me, you still scream. What the hell?"

I gave him The Finger. Yeah. I'm bad.

"May, you do realize that there are little children around, don't you?"

"ARGH! This is _exactly_ why I'm not going to – "

"May. Please. _Please_. If I don't go home with a fiancee that suits my mother's tastes, she'll make me marry..." He shuddered in horror. I could almost see the thunder and lightning in the background. I could even hear the organ playing dramatic music as he uttered two words in a horrified, no, petrified voice, "Marianne Fray."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon.


	3. Percy the Sailor

Engagement Troubles

By

Stars of Gold

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

**Chapter 2 –Percy the Sailor  
**

"May. Please. _Please_. If I don't go home with a fiancée that suits my mother's tastes, she'll make me marry..." He shuddered in horror. I could almost see the thunder and lightning in the background. I could even hear the organ playing dramatic music as he uttered two words in a horrified, no, petrified voice, "Marianne Fray."

I was not impressed.

"I am not impressed. Who's Marianne Fray?"

Drew gave me an exasperated look. "Marianne Fray of the Fray Fashion empire. I figured you'd know of her, being a girl and all."

I shook my head. "Nope. My mom trained me to only buy cheap, high quality stuff. Or during the Princess Festival."

Drew sighed. "Fray Fashion is a very strong, very wealthy company. Marianne Fray is the heir to the Fray Fashion throne. She is also my neighbour."

I gaped. "Your neighbour?"

Drew cringed. "Yes. My neighbour. It's very unfortunate, really. She's had the biggest crush on me since we were five and I gave her back her family's Delcatty and its litter of Skitty."

I snorted. "You had fangirls way back _then_, too?"

Drew smirked. "Jealous?"

I stuck my tongue out. "You wish."

Drew shrugged. "Anyway, I don't want to marry Marianne Fray because she's scary."

I glanced at him skeptically.

"It's true! She has a nose bigger than a Probopass's. And her make-up was slathered on way too thick when I last saw her. And she was _nine_ then," Drew added, making a face at the memory.

I grinned. "Was she really that terrible looking?"

Drew snorted. "She's uglier than Harley in a dress."

I laughed briefly, then imagined Harley in a dress and regretted it as I cringed in horror. Then I imagined someone uglier than that, and I shuddered. If she was really that terrible looking, then being married to her would mean...

Drew. Tall, handsome, talented and married to a woman that looked suspiciously like Harley in a dress.

Which one doesn't quite fit?

I caved.

"Alright, Drew, I'll do it."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

And that is how I got roped into pretending to be Drew's fiancée. Yup. He even got me this ring and all, and I must say, I almost wanted to marry him for real the moment I laid eyes on it. It was silver, with a beautiful sapphire set in the middle.

"Why sapphire?" I asked him when he came back from the store.

"Because the way the sapphire shined reminded me of your beautiful eyes," Drew replied lovingly, smiling at me as if I was his world. I blushed. I never knew Drew could sound so...sweet.

"Oh, and it proves for an easy answer if anyone asks," he added, back to his old, annoying self, smirking at me. "Are you _blushing_, May?"

Of course I was, but I pulled a face to mask it. "Of course not. Don't be so full of yourself."

Drew smirked. "Whatever you say, May."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

We set out for La Rousse the next day. Yeah, Drew was supposed to 'bring home a nice girl' so that 'mommy' wouldn't have to resort to making 'Mommy's Little Drewbie' marry 'that unattractive girl next door'.

Yes, I did tease him about being 'Mommy's Little Drewbie'.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Drew was, and still is, a perfectionist. He went over every detail. Like _every detail_. I think he's a bit paranoid after watching that show _The Proposal_ with me. I made him do it after he lost to me in a contest as payback from the last time he made me watch _Star Wars_ with him. I'm serious. _STAR WARS_. Ugh. And you know what? He doesn't even really like _Star Wars_!

"So we've been dating for two years –"

"After a rivalry that ended in friendship."

"Right. And I proposed to you a week before Sandy came around."

"At a fancy restaurant. We were waiting for dessert to come, then you fell to the ground on one knee and pulled out a red velvet box. I gasped and my mouth fell open in surprise, though my eyes were hopeful."

I noticed Drew giving me The Drew Look, the one where he looks at you like you're a big idiot that he has to take care of 24/7, but I was on a roll, and no stupid Drew Look was going to stop me.

"'May,' you said hopefully, opening the box to reveal a ring. 'Will you marry me?' Then tears came to my eyes and I threw my arms around your neck in a hug, crying, and whispered, 'Yes, yes, of course.' And the restaurant applauded, awwwing as they did so," I sighed dreamily, my eyes starry.

"...What the hell have you been reading?"

"Shut up! I've always wanted something romantic like that."

"Fine. If you're such an expert, you can plan out what happened in our 'relationship' to kill time before we get to La Rousse."

I turned to him, my eyes wide. Clasping my hands to my chest with bright starry eyes, I breathed, "Really?"

Drew seemed to be taken aback with my behaviour, but took it in stride and flipped his hair, smirking. "Sure. I got more important things to think about anyway."

"Thank you, Drew!"

"...As long as you don't make me sound wimpy. I'm still a guy, you know, I have pride."

I scowled. "Party pooper."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

We had started out in Fallarbor Town. From there, we headed east to a port to go off to La Rousse. "Hey Drew, how are we supposed to get there? I mean, I don't have a single Pokemon who knows Surf, much less one that can carry us both there," I frowned.

Drew yawned. "Normally, we'd take the train. But if my mom ever found out that I was on the train, she'd kill me. She thinks that the train is infested with bacteria and germs." Drew rolled his eyes. I smiled. "So in these cases, being part of a powerful family can have its advantages."

Walking up to a sailor whose boat bore an intricate green symbol, Drew nodded to him and said, "Hey Percy." The sailor blinked, glancing at Drew's bright green hair (I swear he uses conditioner or something; his hair is shinier than mine!), then grinned widely.

"Oh, I shoulda known. Hey kid, haven't seen you in a while. Need a ride?" The sailor, presumably Percy, straightened up and yawned.

"That would be nice, thanks, Percy."

Percy ruffled Drew's hair. "Least I can do for ya, kid." Then he caught sight of me and raised an eyebrow. "Finally got yourself a girlfriend, huh, kid?"

By reflex, I blushed and said, "I-I'm not his girlfriend!"

Drew facepalmed behind Percy. Percy frowned. "Really? I coulda sworn..."

Whoops. Time for a little fixing. "I mean, I'm his...fiancée." I did the whole, blushing, shy bride act: blushing, giggling a little, fingering the ring on my finger. Yeah, I know, I'm a great actress.

Percy's eyebrows shot into his hairline. "Whoa, kid," he said in surprise. "You're serious? You're only seventeen, and, by the looks of it, so's she." Percy gave Drew a stern look. "Are you sure, kid?"

Drew raised his head and met Percy's gaze head-on, unwavering in confidence. "Yes. I'm sure. May and coordinating are the only things I've ever been sure of in my life."

Percy stared into Drew's eyes, as if seeking the truth. Then he grinned and turned to me. "Guess that's that! M'name's Percy. Nice ta meet'cha."

I smiled genuinely, shaking his hand. "I'm May, May Maple. I'm a coordinator, just like Drew."

Percy nodded approvingly. "I've always liked coordinators. C'mon, kids, we gotta get going if we wanna get to Drew's place by sundown. Ya know your old man don't allow people ta go in the compound after dark." He turned and hopped onboard.

Drew followed, rolling his eyes. "That's Dad for you," he grumbled.

I stared at the space between the boat and the dock. "Um, Drew," I began nervously. "I kind of have this thing about falling into the sea..."

The next thing I knew, Drew had picked me up bridal style and was carrying me onboard.

"There. That's one problem easily solved," Drew said. He smiled and said, "I'm always here to look out for you, don't worry."

I decided right there that I liked this sweet, caring Drew more than the arrogant bastard I knew. "Thanks," I smiled.

"No problem."

Suddenly, I was so aware that my arms were locked around his neck. And was it me or were we drifting closer...?

I wondered, not for the first time, what it would be like to kiss Drew.

Our faces moved closer together.

Closer...

My eyes started to close.

Closer...

My heart was racing.

And just as we were about to kiss...

"ALRIGHT KIDS, LET'S SET SAIL!"

"EEK!"

_THUMP!_

"Why the hell did you drop me?! I'm going to have a _bruise_ on my ass all week!"

"You're the one who _embedded_ your fingernails into my neck! You drew _blood_, May, look!"

I knew it was too good to be true.

Didn't stop me from hoping, though.

Damn.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Alright, May, we have half an hour to get you ready to meet my family."

I blinked. "Ready? What do you mean?"

I was given The Drew Look. Again. Twice in one day. Wow, he must be really frustrated.

"You can't expect my parents to accept you looking like _that_."

I scoffed indignantly. "Excuse me? You're the one who went around in mismatched clothes seven years back! I mean, come on, who wears purple with that _sickening_ shade of green?!"

Drew looked away, blushing. "I was in my rebellious stage," he murmured, then turned back to me with a determined look on his face.

"Stop changing the subject. Your clothes are travel worn, frayed, dirty, and I think there's even some sort of _bloodstain_ here –"

"That's ketchup, mister!"

"– So we're going to raid my sisters' closet. Follow me."

I followed Drew to a very furry room. I paled at the sight of the fur; they reminded me of Pokemon fur. HOLY MEW DID DREW'S FAMILY _SLAUGHTER_ _POKEMON_ FOR THEIR _HIDES?!?!?!?!_

"This fur is...?" I asked nervously, scared of the answer. Who knows what rich people could do just to get things like these...

"Fake. My family isn't so cruel as to slaughter Pokemon for their hides, but I'm sure you were just making sure and didn't suspect my family of doing that at all," Drew said sarcastically, smirking at me with a look that said 'I-know-exactly-what-you-were-thinking-because-your-face-displays-it-all'.

Busted. Crap.

I blushed. "I – I didn't mean to –!"

"It's okay."

Drew pulled open the closet doors.

I gaped. "YOU HAVE A WALK-IN CLOSET ON YOUR BOAT?!"

Drew smirked. "Nice, huh? But I suppose that I shouldn't take full credit for it. My sisters are the ones who stocked it, after all."

"Holy Ho-Oh."

Drew ignored me and proceeded to the left side of the room. "This corner belongs to the youngest of all my sisters. Her stuff should be able to fit you."

"B-But won't she notice that I'm wearing her clothes?"

Drew shrugged. "My sisters rarely ever leave the city. They rarely leave the house, even. This is the stash that has been here for ages. The original idea was to have clothes onboard in case we were attacked and had to run away or something."

I glanced at him skeptically. Drew shrugged. "Blame my sisters. Their imaginations are crazy. They don't bother with it anymore because Dad got a security system to deal with anyone who tries to go in or come out after sundown."

I cringed. "Wow, that sounds harsh."

"Mm hmm. What do you think of this...?"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Twenty minutes later, I was dressed in a blue summer dress and blue strappy platform heels. Drew had merely told me to brush my hair, claiming it was 'impossible to take out of that strange hairstyle' which, of course, I took offense to. The argument took fifteen minutes; getting ready took five.

"May." Drew tossed me a blue bandanna and disappeared into the bathroom. In five minutes, he emerged from the bathroom wearing a white button-down shirt and blue jeans.

"Okay, May, are you ready to meet my family?"

"No," I squeaked.

"Too bad. Let's go."

*~*~*~*~*~*~

Up on deck, I spotted a lot of green hair. A _lot_ of green hair. And all shiny. Maybe they all used the same conditioner...?

"Drewbie!"

As soon as the boat came close enough, Drew's mother jumped onboard and glomped him. I barely resisted bursting into laughter, settling for a grin instead.

"Oh, Drew, dear, I missed you so much! You have to call home more often, dear!"

"Um, I missed you too, Mom, but you're kind of strangling me, so..."

"Oh! Sorry, dear."

I decided that I liked her; she was a very motherly woman.

Upon pulling away, she caught sight of me and she approached, scrutinizing me head to toe. I smiled as happily as I could and said, "My name is May Maple. I'm Drew's...fiancée. Nice to meet you." I stuck my hand out for her to shake.

There was a very tense feeling in the air. I felt as though everybody was staring at my outstretched hand like I'd done something very, very wrong.

*~*~*~*~*~*~

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon. Or The Proposal. Or Star Wars. But I do own Percy. And The Drew Look.


	4. Hey, Sister

Engagement Troubles

By

Stars of Gold

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

**Chapter 3 – Hey, Sister**

I smiled as happily as I could and said, "My name is May Maple. I'm Drew's...fiancée. Nice to meet you." I stuck my hand out for her to shake.

There was a very tense feeling in the air. I felt as though everybody was staring at my outstretched hand like I'd done something very, very wrong.

I began to feel nervous. Very, very nervous. What if Drew's mother doesn't accept me?! Then he'd have to marry a woman that looked like Harley in a dress! Oh Mew, don't tell me I'm messing up Drew's life! I don't want to be responsible for messing up his life!

Okay, May, stop freaking out. You know it shows on your face when you start freaking out. Calm down. Deep breaths. Steady. Steaaaddddyyy.

"Drew, dear," his mother began, squinting at my hand.

...Okay, I'm freaking out again. Please don't let me ruin Drew's life. Please please please. I pray to all the legendaries. _Please_ don't let me ruin his life.

"Where exactly did you meet this girl? Where is she..._from_?" Drew's mother was still frowning. I was still freaking out. Everyone was still staring at my hand like it was a knife I was trying to assassinate Drew's mother with.

Drew apparently understood why everyone was acting that way, and said, as if it explained everything, "May is from Petalburg City."

"Ohhhhhhhh," the grassheads chorused, seeming to understand all of a sudden. Including Percy, though I could only assume he had green hair from his beard, which was a much darker, forest green than the grasshead family.

I felt very out of the loop. Relieved, but out of the loop.

Drew's mother gingerly grasped my hand in a handshake. "Hello, May, dear, it's nice to meet you. My name is Eloise, but seeing as you're going to be my daughter-in-law soon, you can also call me whatever you call your own mother."

I smiled easily, despite being slightly embarrassed (being a coordinator, you have to be able to fake a genuine-looking smile, even when your life is going _horribly_). "If it's alright, I'll just stick to calling you Eloise."

Eloise then proceeded to crush me in a big, warm hug.

"Oh, you'll love it here, dearie! We'd prepared a showcase of Drewbie's talents as a coordinator! Are you a trainer, dear?" Eloise asked me, holding me at arm's length.

I shook my head. "No, I'm also a coordinator."

Eloise's face somehow, miraculously, brightened further. "Oh, that's simply marvelous! Would you show us some of your moves, too?" The look on her face was so hopeful. I wondered briefly if Drew had inherited an expression like that, and that it would be funny to see him use it.

I smiled. "Of course, Eloise, I'd be glad to."

Eloise clapped her hands together. "Oh, that would be _perfect_! Well, I'll leave you two lovebirds to yourselves! If you feel hungry, I'm about to whip up a batch of cookies in my kitchen, so feel free to drop by!"

Eloise trotted off into the house. The grassheads followed; all except two (three if you include Percy). The first was Drew. Duh. The second was a tall, slender girl with shiny green hair. She kind of seemed like Drew as a girl, except taller and older.

"Hey little brother," she greeted, grinning and ruffling Drew's hair. Drew sighed. "Hi Danielle. May borrowed your clothes, I'm sure that's why you stayed back?"

Danielle grinned. "Yup. Hi there, May, my name's Danielle, the youngest of Drew's sisters, and you can share clothes with me and my sisters anytime. If they fit you, of course."

I smiled and stuck my hand out to shake, quickly forgetting the crazy reaction I'd gotten when I'd stuck my hand out earlier. Thankfully, Danielle's grin simply widened as she took my hand and shook enthusiastically.

"Thank you, and it's nice to meet you, Danielle."

Danielle grinned mischievously. "So," she said slyly. "You and my adorable brother, huh?"

I blushed. Drew cleared his throat. "Maybe you should talk about it _inside_. May? Need help getting back on solid land?" Even the way he spoke to me was somehow more gentle, more loving. His acting was terribly good.

I glanced at the murky water and squeaked, "If you wouldn't mind."

Drew easily lifted me by the waist and set me onto the ground.

"Wow, who would have thought my adorable little brother would be so willing to help?" teased Danielle. "You must be a special case," she said to me, winking. I blushed.

"Holy _Arceus_," I breathed, staring up at the mansion before me. "Celebi, Drew, your house is _huge_!"

Drew shrugged. "With riches come an uncontrollable urge to spend it. Come on May, I'll show you around," he said as I followed him into the mansion. Danielle tutted. "No way, little brother. You go do something else while I spend some quality time with May here. I can't believe you kept a girl like her hidden away from us for so long!"

Drew rolled his eyes. "Like you wouldn't have scared her away, what with you and our sisters being totally insane. If I brought her back earlier, she'd have dumped me for some tanned, buff guy named Javier."

I pouted. "I totally wouldn't have dumped you for a hot guy named Javier! And Danielle doesn't seem any more insane than you and me."

Danielle grinned triumphantly. "See, little bro? May loves you. And when you love someone, you stay with them forever. ...Unless they cheat on you; when that happens, you dump them," she added thoughtfully.

Drew sighed. "Whatever. I am not arguing with you over this. May, be careful. Danielle, keep her away from Seth. You know how he likes to flirt with pretty girls, even if they're taken. Oh, and before I forget..." He released his Roselia.

"We're home, Roselia."

Roselia looked around. "_(Hello, Danielle!)_" she called happily, looking up at Danielle. Danielle giggled and picked Roselia up like I would a child (but of course I've carried Roselia a couple of times, too; she's just so adorable and sometimes Drew is a bit too hard on his Pokemon. Then again, he says I'm too willing to praise my Pokemon, so they never feel like they have to give it 110% instead of just 100% and that's why I lose to him more than he does to me, but you shouldn't listen to him, he's a jerk).

"Hi there, Roselia! Oh, I haven't seen you since you were a hatchling. Drew, what have you been feeding her? Roselias don't usually grow so big!"

Drew looked away, blushing. "Well... You know how certain Berries are rumored to, um, enlarge a man's, ahem," Drew coughed and muttered something I didn't quite catch. "Yeah. I didn't know it at the time, and made a Pokeblock out of it to feed Roselia. She grew pretty quick."

Danielle grinned slyly. "But how did you know those berries were the ones people used to, um, _enhance_ certain body parts?"

Drew's blush deepened. A lot.

I blinked, confused, as Danielle began to laugh. "Oh, Mew, that's hilarious, little bro," she guffawed.

"...I don't get it," I said, looking from one grasshead to the other. Drew turned so red, the roses he gave me paled in comparison. "Tell her, tell her. No secrets from your wife, Drew dear," Danielle giggled. I actually saw tears in her eyes from laughing so hard.

"I...ate one of those berries and...two days later..."

It took a few moments to sink in, but when it did, I blushed deeply. "Oh," I squeaked. That explains a lot. Like why the bulge in his pants in the morning is so...prominent.

Drew's face was shining like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Stantler's nose. "Please take Roselia to see her mother while I go see Dad," he said coolly, as if he weren't blushing in the slightest.

Danielle, still laughing uncontrollably, choked out, "Dad...isn't here... He's on...a...business trip."

Drew brightened by a lot and said cheerily, "Oh, well, that changes things! I'm going to go and practice my routine for the showcase. Stop by and say hi if you pass by the training area." He kissed me on the forehead affectionately and left, his hands in his pockets as he whistled a jaunty tune.

"What's up with him?"

Danielle sighed. "Drew and my father have a delicate relationship."

I nodded. "Yeah, I gathered."

Danielle shook her head. "Dad thinks that male coordinators are gay. He thinks coordinating is best left to women. Drew, on the other hand, has always loved combining moves to make powerful and beautiful attacks. Needless to say, they don't exactly see eye to eye."

I frowned. "I mean no offense to you, Danielle, but your father has to learn that Drew is really, really, _really_ good at what he does. Didn't you guys hear? He's won the Ribbon Cup _twice in a row_, and he's the youngest coordinator to_ ever_ win a Ribbon Cup!"

Danielle chuckled. "I know, I heard. Although you beat him last year, didn't you? You went home with the shiny Cup."

I smiled. It was after I won that Ribbon Cup that he actually offered to travel with me. I believe his words were, "Now that you've proven you can do things on your own, how do you feel about traveling together? I know you're lonely."

It was true, and I took him up on his offer. I'd been traveling with him ever since. It had been a year, six months, five days, two hours and three minutes since then. But, then again, who's counting?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

We stopped at a big patch of grassy land, where I gaped at the sheer amount of Pokemon milling around. "Whoa," I breathed, taking in all the Pokemon. Flaafy, that one. Oh, and those adorable Hoppip flying around. And there was a pair of Pikachu nursing their litter of Pichus. It was the most wonderful thing I've ever seen.

"_(Mother! Mother, I'm home...)_" Roselia trotted off into the field, seeking out a Roserade and chattering happily with her. I smiled fondly at her.

"You really like Roselia, huh?" Danielle asked, hands on her hips.

I chuckled. "How do I not like her? She's so lovable. Much more mature than her trainer, too," I said, rolling my eyes.

Danielle chuckled. "It's nice to meet someone who loves my brother so much. Even while insulting him, you can't help smiling when you think of him."

Realizing that I was, in fact, smiling good-naturedly, I blushed.

I was _so_ not in love with Drew. No way. I was just...acting subconsciously. Yeah.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As we happily munched on some cookies after stopping by at Eloise's private kitchen ("Mom has her own kitchen to bake or cook in. Mostly she bakes, but sometimes she cooks simple meals. The main kitchens are down over there, where we prepare food for everyone. There are a lot of people in this compound, you know. And the cooks have to prepare meals for _everyone_."), I frowned and decided that now was a good time to ask.

"Hey, Danielle?"

"Yeah?"

"Why was everybody staring at me like I was killing Pokemon when I stuck my hand out to shake?"

Danielle chuckled. "You're so clueless, it's cute. See, in upper society, when a woman sticks her hand out, it's for a man to kiss it. Like my cute brother did to you at last year's Hoenn Grand Festival before giving you a rose."

I blushed. "I'm embarrassed now."

She sighed dreamily and clasped her hands together. "I wish my boyfriend would do that for me! There's absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about! But anyway, when we found out you were from a small town, well, that explained everything."

I frowned. "Petalburg isn't terribly big, but I wouldn't call it small, either," I said, slightly confused. Danielle shrugged. "Our whole compound is about the same size of your hometown, though that might be because our family is the richest on the island."

My eyes widened. "Richest on the island? La Rousse is pretty high-tech; everyone's rich here. And you're telling me that your family is the richest on the island? Why in the name of Darkrai didn't Drew mention this before?"

Danielle smiled fondly. "My brother is wise. He keeps away from people who want him for power and money and fame; instead, he comes to you, a simple small town girl, who loves him for _him_ and not for his money, or his fame, or his status."

I was genuinely touched that Drew chose me to travel with. Me. Out of all the rich and famous in the world he could have travelled with, he chose me.

I smiled absently, still thinking. "Yeah."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When we got to the training grounds, Drew was still there, despite an hour having passed since we parted ways.

"Masquerain, let's try that routine once more. Just once. If you can't do it today, we'll try again tomorrow. Okay? Alright, let's try again. Masquerain, use Silver Wind!"

Danielle was about to call out Drew's name, but I gestured for her to hush and just watch the show.

"Masquera-a-a-a-ain!" Masquerain sent out a Silver Wind, tipping to one side then the other as he pirouetted rapidly into the air. The silver crescents shot in every direction.

"Now, Bubble!"

Bubbles flew into the air in a similar fashion, mixing in with the silver crescents nicely.

"And now, Hidden Power!"

Hidden Power produced green balls which were similarly spread throughout the air. Everywhere one looked, it was raining crescents and energy balls and bubbles.

"Good, Masquerain. Watch your timing, the bubbles and Hidden Power almost collided. Now, Flygon..."

Danielle clapped loudly. "Good job, little bro," she said, approaching him. I followed suit, my eyes shining. "That was amazing, Drew! If that's your appeal, I'd better get to work on beating you," I joked.

Drew grinned. "Oh yeah? Let's have a match, right here, right now."

I grinned competitively. "You're on!" I was a bit hungry, but other than that, I was in top shape for battling. Especially since Drew's strongest Pokemon Roselia wasn't around to get him an easy win. I was sure I could take him and beat him into the ground.

My stomach betrayed me and growled loudly.

Danielle guffawed, rolling on the ground, even, while Drew settled for a laugh. "You should see the look on your face, May," he said, chortling. I looked away, blushing in embarrassment. "Oh, shut up. I can recall at least three times when we didn't have a match because of _your_ personal business."

"Sure you can," Drew said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"I can! Like what about that time Team Rocket tried to steal Roselia?"

"It's not my fault Team Rocket wanted to try stealing Roselia instead of Ash's Pikachu. Like Roselia would be easier to take," he scoffed, flipping his hair.

"True. But what about – "

My stomach growled insistently. Drew grinned. "Come on, May, it's about time for dinner anyway." He returned his Pokemon and walked off towards the main house, gesturing for me to follow.

"Hey Drew?" I asked, realizing something.

"Yeah?"

"Shouldn't we bring Danielle along?" After all, we'd left her rolling around on the training grounds' floor, laughing and probably getting dust into her clothes, not to mention inhaling some, too.

"Eh, she'll be fine. She's 22, she can take care of herself."

"True. Race you to the dining hall!" I raced off. We both had a pretty good chance of winning; I was faster (by just a smidge, but still, I'm better than Drew at _something_, so IN YOUR FACE, DREWBIE!!!!), but Drew knew the territory better than me.

"May! How come you always get a head start?!"

I laughed and turned my head to yell back, "Because I'm awesomer and way more fun!"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

DISCLAIMER: I bet my boobs are bigger than Satoshi Tajiri's. But that's probably because I'm a girl.

I know I'm really bad at writing appeals. I see them in my head, I just don't know how to word it. It sucks when that happens.

And yes, I'm making everything I'm stating about La Rousse up. Because I have never seen the movie. I have only seen the aerial view of the island and I know there's a bit of a mess-up with the time they arrive and I'm going to fix that so bear with me for a while.


	5. Twin Trouble

Engagement Troubles

By

Stars of Gold

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

**Chapter 4 – Twin Trouble**

Drew and I burst into the dining room laughing and panting from the race we had here.

"I won!" I cried.

Drew scoffed. "No way, it was a tie!" he insisted, still panting, though not quite as heavily as me. I had to admit, Drew seemed a lot faster than when we'd last raced. I actually had to make a huge effort to win. Maybe it had to do with the fact that he has like fifty million fangirls who chase him around on a daily basis and the last time we raced was three months ago.

...Nah.

"...Drew, is that you?"

We both turned to see a very pretty girl, also sporting the trademark green hair of Drew's family, peering at Drew with an expression I didn't quite like. It was a cross between the hungry stalker look you see on his fangirls and the starry-eyed adoration that he and I get from younger coordinators.

Drew seemed to tense a little, but said, "Hello, Sally."

The girl, newly identified as Sally, smiled prettily and ran to him in a terribly girly way and hugged him. I felt a twinge of jealousy, though it subsided slightly when I noted the tense, uncomfortable expression on Drew's face.

"Oh, legendaries, it _is_ you, Drew! I heard you were back, but I didn't know it was true!"

Her embrace seemed to tighten, and Drew seemed to want nothing more than to get out of it. I decided to save him and cleared my throat loudly.

Sally broke away from Drew to frown at me. Drew took the opportunity to move away from her and put an arm around my waist.

"May, love," he said, smiling at me. I started a little at the term of endearment but quickly realized that we were supposed to be engaged. "This is my cousin, Sally. Sally, this is my fiancée May."

Smiling as prettily as I could, I said, "It's nice to meet you, Sally." I made sure not to stick my hand out for her to shake – she'd probably have a fit.

Sally's smile faltered, but came back easily. "It's nice to meet you, too, May," she said pleasantly, though I noticed that she sounded a bit disappointed and that the corners of her lips were shaking slightly, as if she found it hard to maintain her smile. I felt a twinge of guilt and pity.

"Well, anyway," said Sally, remaining upbeat as five servants carried plates and set them out on the table. "It's almost time for dinner, so straighten up a bit before everyone else comes around."

I glanced at my slightly dirty dress and dusted off the dirt and grass. I also dusted off dirt and grass from my shins. "Hey, you missed a spot, you silly girl," said Drew, brushing off something on my bandana. I smiled and said teasingly, "You're one to talk! You missed a spot too!" I brushed a leaf off of his shoulder.

Drew smiled at me lovingly, making me shiver. "Thanks."

Two could play at that game. I smiled back at him just as lovingly and said softly, "No problem." I was rewarded when Drew blushed slightly.

I winked at him flirtatiously and turned away to smooth down my skirt. Drew decided I had a good idea and smoothed down his shirt as well. "Do we look okay?" I asked Sally, who was watching us with wistful eyes.

"Huh?" Sally seemed to snap out of some sort of daze, but she blinked it away and said, "Yeah, you both look great." Her smile was sad and longing.

My heart went out to her.

Suddenly, Drew swore. "Crap, I think I dropped something on the way here," he said, running his hand through his hair. I slapped his shoulder. "Don't swear."

Drew gripped his injured arm and made an indignant noise. "What about you? You've insulted me with so many bad words it could fill a dictionary!"

"What did you drop?" I changed the subject tactfully. Drew snorted. "Oh sure, change the subject. Well, if you must know, I dropped something quite important to me, so I'm going to go and get it."

"What was it?" I asked curiously. Drew grinned cheekily and said, "Secret."

I pouted. "Meanie."

Drew grinned. "Aww, come on, May, you know you love me."

"Weren't you going to go?" I asked, with a slight smile to take the sting out of my words, shoving him out of the door.

After succeeding in pushing Drew out, I turned to face Sally. "Hey, Sally – "

Sally suddenly glared at me. "Look, _May_," she spat out my name like it was poison. I shuddered. "You and Drew are not going to work out. He was always meant to be with _me_, so back off, _bitch_."

My jaw dropped and the heart that went out to her earlier came back in the blink of an eye.

"Surprised? Yeah, I can be even worse when I want to be, so just go running back to your pitiful family and leave us alone."

My lips pressed into a thin line. "I'm sorry, Sally," I said calmly. "In case you didn't know, when people are engaged, it usually means that they love each other. And people who love each other _stay_ with each other." I narrowed my eyes, feeling uncharacteristically vicious towards her.

Sally glared death. I met her gaze coolly, perfectly willing to win a fight should she start one. I seriously thought she was going to lunge at me, but Eloise, Danielle and three girls I assumed to be Drew and Danielle's sisters opened the doors and walked in.

Immediately, Sally became a smiling, beautiful, perfect girl again. I kept my guard up, but relaxed and smiled politely at all of them.

"Oh _Celebi_, Diana, just look at her!" squealed one.

"I know, right?! She's so cuuute!" giggled another, attempting to pinch my cheeks.

"She's got to be if she managed to make our little brother actually _want_ to marry her!" piped the last one, and they all burst into hysterical giggles.

I sweatdropped anime-style.

"Girls," said Eloise lightly, in the kind of tone my mother used to remind me to be polite. The girls retreated and settled for giggling.

"Um, hi," I said hesitantly, not sure if I should try to introduce myself while they were still giggling. They stopped giggling and smiled at me. "Hi there!" "Hello!" "Hey!" they greeted simultaneously.

I smiled a little weakly, feeling overwhelmed by the enthusiasm these girls gave off. "My name is May Maple. I'm a coordinator."

"We know!" chirped the three girls, giggling once more.

"Hi, May, my name is Demelza," said the one with the braid and kind eyes, recovering from the giggles a little bit earlier than her sisters.

"I'm Diana," chirped a short woman, shorter than all of the grassheads I'd seen today. Her hair was cut into a bob, much unlike Danielle and Eloise's flowing long hair.

"And I'm Denise. It's really nice to meet you, May," said the third, a woman with incredibly straight hair tied into a tight high ponytail.

"It's very nice to meet all of you," I said politely.

Drew then entered the room. "Hey May, I found what I – oh no."

For as soon as Demelza, Denise and Diana spotted him, they grinned widely and glomped him.

"Little brother!"

"Drewbie!"

"Drew-drew!"

I couldn't help cracking a smile. Drew's sisters really did love to tease him, but I bet they really missed him too.

"We haven't seen you in _years_!"

"Oh, when you left you were such a cute kid! Look at you now, all grown up and _engaged_!"

"I still remember changing your diapers...!"

"Demelza!" Drew protested. I almost felt sorry for poor Drew, alone in the room with no other source of testosterone.

Then I heard an unexpectedly masculine chuckle.

"That's the 'D' sisters for you," said the stranger, also with green hair (I decided then to make it my mission to find someone without green hair (who was related to the rest of the family by blood, not by marriage, just to be clear) in the compound).

The stranger winked at me. "Hey, beautiful, what are you doing here?"

He was hot, I'll give you that, but he had nothing on Drew. I was supposed to be engaged to Drew anyway, so I merely smiled politely and quite insincerely and said, "I'm Drew's fiancee."

The hot guy raised an eyebrow. "What did he do to deserve a fine young lady like you?"

I didn't quite like the way he spoke of Drew, and retorted, "What did he do to deserve such contempt from you?"

He smirked in a way that was a lot more sinister than Drew's. I didn't like it.

"Ooh, feisty. I – "

"Seth, stop flirting with my fiancee," Drew said in a joking manner that carried a hint of danger, slipping an arm around my waist.

"Sorry, dude, she's just really pretty," Seth said, eying me up and down. "_Damn,_" he whispered in awe. I blushed a bit and put my arm around Drew's waist after noticing he was getting _really_ irritated. "Come on, Drew, let's go sit down. I'm hungry," I said, tugging him towards the table softly but insistently. Drew gave Seth a last glare, then followed my lead.

"Hey," called Seth. I ignored him and kept walking, as did Drew. "What's your name, Miss Drew's-Fiancee?" I refused to answer him, instead pretending he didn't exist. Drew seemed to be a bit annoyed, so I poked him in the side.

Drew jumped slightly and shot me a reproachful look. I shrugged. "You were all hot and bothered about that Seth guy. Calm down, Drew. It's not like I'm going to run off with _that_ jerk when I'm engaged to you." I lay my head on his shoulder comfortingly to make him blush and forget all about that Seth jerk. And also because I'd always wanted to every time I looked at his broad shoulders. They were certainly broader than mine or my mother's or anyone else's shoulders I'd leaned on.

Predictably, Drew blushed. He led us over to the table and sat down beside his mother. I sat beside him, of course.

"Drewbie, May, dear, our little showcase will be happening tomorrow evening. Would you have enough time to prepare?" Eloise asked.

I smiled. "Don't worry, Eloise, Drew and I are top-notch performers. We can be ready at a moment's notice!" I said proudly. Eloise clapped her hands together in delight. "Marvelous! Oh, and about sleeping arrangements... Well, you two _are_ engaged and all, so if you wouldn't mind, you could stay in Drew's room, May, dear?"

I blushed the deepest red ever known to mankind, as did Drew. "U-U-Um," I stammered. "O-Okay."

Eloise smiled at us both, saying, "No need to be shy about anything, dears, I have no pretences about the nature of your relationship. I'm sure that you won't be rash in whatever you choose to do." She left that vague sentence hanging, and us blushing like beetroots.

"Let's...talk about that later," Drew suggested quietly. I nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, everyone had seated themselves at the table. On my other side was Diana. Next to her was Danielle. Beside Danielle sat a very stiff-looking woman who was scrutinizing my every move. I shuddered and moved on to the person next to her, someone I assumed to be her husband. Her husband was a slightly fat man who looked very nervous. Beside them were Sally and Seth.

"They're twins, you know," said Drew. I raised my eyebrows. "Really? Wow, I've always wanted to meet twins! It's so cool."

Beside the twins, Denise was chatting happily with a young man who sat next to Demelza. He didn't bear the trademark green hair, so I figured he was Demelza or Denise's husband. Demelza, I decided, watching them. You could just _tell_ by looking at them. Something about their body language.

Next to Demelza was a blank spot. I supposed it was for Andrew, Drew's father. And then it came to Eloise. Very systematic.

"Dinner is served," called a very posh, haughty-sounding voice.

Two servants appeared and served dinner.

And, man, it was great.

I couldn't help smiling throughout dinner. The food was amazing, and the familial warmth was almost overpowering. They were like a real family, despite the riches they had, talking and joking and laughing over dinner like any other family would.

Most of all, I smiled because Drew seemed really happy. Drew had always been a bit lonely, I think – though traveling with me helped – and being back here with his family erased that loneliness completely.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Drew asked, raising an eyebrow.

I shrugged and grinned wider. "Oh, nothing."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was incredibly awkward that night. We tried to delay the inevitable by washing up first, but later, we had to face the facts. We had to decide on sleeping arrangements.

"Um...You can take the bed, May. I'll take the floor," offered Drew chivalrously. I shook my head. "No. You think I'm the kind of person who would take your bed away from you? We'll share the bed."

"Share? That might be a bit weird," said Drew, scratching his head.

I shrugged, although I was blushing slightly. "It's not like we've never shared a bed before," I pointed out. "Remember that time we got lost in the winter? We slept in the same sleeping bag that day, and that's much closer than a bed."

It had been cold that day, so terribly, bitterly cold. We were lost, hungry, cold, and we were biting each others' heads off. We tried to go to sleep separately, but it was way too cold. We were both shivering, and we knew it. Drew, with his male pride, refused to admit it, so I was forced to say that _I_ was cold and needed his body heat when really we needed each other.

Stupid Drew and his stupid man-pride. Though it was really nice to have an excuse to snuggle up to him and have him hold me in those strong arms and man, did he smell nice and – okay, stopping now. I was almost insane then, my thoughts were crazy. Pay them no mind.

Drew shrugged. "Point taken. But I still think it would be weird."

I sighed. Drew and his chivalry. It was kind of sweet and all, but now was so not the time.

Time for the childish taunts.

I smirked. "I bet you're scared. You're scared of sleeping in the same bed with me, aren't you?"

His eye twitched. "Why the hell would I be scared of _that_?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Oh Mew!" I feigned horror. "You're...You're _gay_, aren't you?!?! Oh Palkia, that makes so much sense! You're scared your boyfriend will find out and accuse you of cheating on him!"

Drew glared. If looks could kill, I'd be six feet under by now.

"I'm straight," he snapped. I grinned. "I don't think so. A straight guy would jump at the chance to sleep in the same bed as a girl. You? You're being chivalrous because you're – "

In a flash, Drew had me pinned to the wall and was right up in my face. "I am not gay," he growled huskily. I felt a thrill of fear and adrenaline and excitement all at the same time. It was a really inappropriate time, especially since we were going to sleep in the same bed soon after, but I noticed, not for the first time, that Drew really was _damn fine_. And I don't usually swear.

A slightly tense, awkward moment later, Drew pulled away and murmured, "Fine, I'll share the bed with you. But you better not slap me in the morning like you did last time!"

I scoffed. "My slapping you was completely justified! Do you even know where your hand was that morning?!"

"I know where it was, but I don't remember what it feels like. Want to refresh my memory?"

"You pervert!"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

DISCLAIMER: Pokemon are cool. I wish I had one. But that's all it is, a wish. So no, I don't own Pokemon.


	6. Henrietta, the Startled Maid

Engagement Troubles

By

Stars of Gold

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

**Chapter 5 – Henrietta, the Startled Maid**

I woke up early the next morning with only one thought in mind: _Mm, comfy._

Then I realized that I was spooning with Drew.

And that it was _nice_.

Just as this epiphany struck me (Drew taught me that word a couple of weeks ago, I'm actually surprised I can remember it), I realized that Drew's hand was where it shouldn't be. Again. Pervert.

Before I could freak out and yell at him, the door creaked open slowly. I quickly pretended to be asleep, only leaving my eyes open a tiny crack.

"Quick, quick!" whispered Diana, sneaking into the room and gesturing wildly at someone outside. I figured it was her sisters, and I was right. Denise and Danielle made a big show of creeping in sneakily.

Demelza simply walked in, shaking her head as she said, "You three are so mean. Poor Drewbie will be mortified that we walked in on their private time. You know how easily embarrassed he is."

Diana shrugged. "It's not like they're naked. Sure, he's kind of groping her, but they're just cuddling! I bet they do it all the time. They travel together, right?"

Demelza sighed. "That's not the point, Diana. You know how Drewbie gets when we catch him being caring. You should know better. Especially you, Denise! I would have expected this from Diana and Danielle, but you?" She shook her head in disappointment. "I'm very disappointed in you," said Demelza, reminding me of my mother. For a woman who's never had kids, she had the motherly role down pat.

Denise smiled sheepishly. "I didn't want to do this, Danielle blackmailed me."

Danielle grinned at Demelza and gave her the peace sign. "I didn't have anything on you, Dem, or I would have roped you into this, too."

Demelza shot her a very stern, motherly look, complete with hands resting on her hips firmly.

Danielle made a face. "Don't look at me like that, Dem. It wasn't my idea, Diana was the one who introduced it; I just went along because I thought it would be fun."

Demelza turned to Diana, an eyebrow raised sternly in true motherly fashion. Diana made a face. "Drew-Drew posted pictures of me kissing Joe Michaels during Seven Minutes in Heaven on the internet when I was sixteen! Do you know how much teasing I had to go through?! This is payback!" she hissed viciously with an evil smile.

With almost identical evil grins, the sisters, minus Demelza, nodded firmly at each other. Demelza shook her head but made no attempt to stop them. Diana began the countdown, "3... 2... 1!"

They all ran towards us and flung themselves over us.

I shrieked loudly upon impact. Drew's eyes snapped open as he sat up groggily. "What happened?" he demanded, half-asleep. Catching sight of Diana, Denise and Danielle giggling on the bed, he groaned, "...Mew, you three jumped on me _again_?!"

"And I thought it was bad when Max did it," I half-joked, rubbing my eyes sleepily. "G'morning," I yawned. "What time is it?"

Drew glanced at the clock on the bedside table. "Holy crap, it's 6 in the morning!"

"Don't swear," I reminded him, slapping the back of his head. The sisters giggled. Even Demelza chuckled a little. Ha. Serves him right, the foul-mouthed pervert. When we have kids I'll wash his mouth out so they won't be corrupted.

...!!

Not 'our kids' like '_our_ kids', I was talking about his kids in general! I'm serious, stop giving me that 'yeah, _right_,' look.

"Ow!" protested Drew, glaring at me half-heartedly. I ignored him and smiled at his sisters. "Thanks for waking us up. I wanted to practice my routine anyway. And you," I turned to Drew with a glare. "Didn't we talk about where you can and cannot put your hands?"

"...Yes."

"Yes, we have. Around eighty times, actually," I added, inventing wildly. Drew frowned. "Are you sure it was eighty? I'm pretty sure it was more like a hundred. Remember the time we went to Cerulean? You went drinking with Misty and her sisters practically every night. I'm pretty sure we had that conversation before going to sleep."

I freaked out. I didn't know I'd shared a bed with him then! Then again, he might be making it up in front of his sisters. Either way, I outwardly kept my cool and said, "And what did I say?"

Drew sighed. "'Imagine that my body is a globe. Stay around the Equator and don't go too far north or south,'" he quoted.

I nodded firmly. "Good boy," I said with a teasing grin. Drew rolled his eyes and kissed my forehead. I fought down a blush.

"Damn," said Diana in awe. "You two really love each other, don't you?"

I smiled at her and laced Drew's and my own fingers together, feeling only a twinge of guilt for lying about this to her face. "Yeah," I said. "Yeah, we do."

But, the thing was, I couldn't stop thinking...was it really a lie?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Alright," I said enthusiastically to Beautifly, still my number one contest Pokemon after so many years. "Let's get cracking!"

(Ready when you are!) chirped Beautifly happily. I nodded. "Alright, Beautifly, let's see a Silver Wind!"

"Beautifly!" Silver crescents flew from Beautifly's wings, looped into the air and came flying back.

"Now, Psychic!" I commanded. "Beautiflyy!" Beautifly's eyes glowed blue and the crescents came together in a line, twisting and turning until it spelt my name and then Beautifly's in cursive. I smiled proudly. It took me ages to teach her that one. Drew, curse him, was the one who made the most progress teaching Beautifly. It's not my fault he's a better Pokeblock chef than me. I'm better at cooking human food anyway. So take that!

...But that's probably because I'm worried I'll poison my Pokemon so I don't take risks in making Pokeblock. I always make Drew eat my human food first and I'm not very concerned about poisoning Drew – Roselia and Flygon as a team could probably find him an antidote real quick anyway.

Drew, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. His Pokemon are totally tough and they never get food poisoning. Me? I'm a different story. I throw up after eating day-old _berries_, let alone kitchen experiments.

Anyway.

The line of silver swirled artistically into a tight ball in the middle of the room.

"Release Psychic!"

Beautifly complied with a chirp of her own name and the tight ball exploded so that it was raining silver crescents. I smiled. "Good job, Beautifly, but I think we need to add something. It seems...like it's not the best it can be. Hmm..."

I was deep in thought. So very deep in thought that I didn't even look up when Beautifly flew away from me. In fact, I was so deep in thought that I didn't notice Drew was there until he said, "Hey May."

I yelped. Loudly. It wasn't my fault! I was deep in thought, couldn't Drew see that?!

"You should add a bit more to your appeal. It's off."

I glared. "I _know_ that. I was _thinking_ about what to add until _you_ came in," I said scathingly. Drew gave me his most charming smile. "You know you love me, May. And how about you add in a String Shot? If Beautifly has enough concentration, you can even write different things with the two. And we could feed her the Pokeblock I came up with last Tuesday to make String Shot turn golden."

I frowned for a moment, considering it. Gold and silver. Such beautiful, regal colors. Opposites, almost.

Opposites.

"We could draw a picture!" I cried as I pointed up towards the sky in a 'eureka' moment, catching Drew in the chin on the way.

"Ow!" we both cried, me clutching my finger and Drew his chin. "Holy mother of Mew, May, I think I'm _bleeding_! When was the last time you cut your fingernails?"

"Tuesday."

"Last Tuesday we spent the whole day in a contest."

"I didn't say it was _last_ Tuesday."

"Then which Tuesday was it?"

"...The first Tuesday last month."

"What?! You are coming with me." He took me by the wrist and dragged me out of the auditorium.

"Hey! Stop that, I have to practice! Beautifly's still in there!" I protested, trying to pry his fingers off of my wrist and failing stupendously.

"You'll have plenty of time to practice after you cut your nails. And Beautifly left to play with Masquerain the moment I came in with him. They're probably frolicking in the fields. Masquerain knows his way around and won't let Beautifly out of his sight, so don't worry about them."

Curse him. He took my excuse and chucked it out of the window.

"I still have to –"

"Perhaps there's some way I can... _persuade_ you?" Drew purred, giving me his best charming lop-sided grin. I blushed a little. Stupid sexy Drew with his stupid sexy voice and his stupid sexy smile.

"You mean...?" I breathed, my heart racing. If he meant what I thought he meant, it was totally worth the fuss I was going to undergo. Contrary to popular belief, I'm not a big fan of manicures or nail polish or any sort of makeup. Well, makeup I'm fine with, but I hate putting anything on my lips. It always feels so _weird_.

...I like fashion, though!

"Precisely," Drew answered, confirming my beliefs.

"Yes!" I cheered. "Banana split covered with hot fudge, here I come!"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Drew made me go through the manicure before he let me have my amazing dessert.

"How do I know you won't make me get the manicure and then _not_ give me my reward?" I asked suspiciously, narrowing my eyes at him. Drew snorted. "Have I ever lied to you, May?"

"Yes," I answered without hesitation. "Like that time you told me that pigs fly?"

Drew sighed. "That was sarcasm, you silly girl."

"Oh. Well, that makes a lot more sense."

"Mm-hmm."

"I still don't trust you!"

"Of course you do, you love me." He was saying that because of the maid doing my nails.

"Yes, I love you, but no, I don't trust you." It was actually getting easier to say. I _love_ Drew, _I_ love Drew, I love _Drew_. At first I kind of stumbled a bit, even when I just thought it, but it got better. I wonder why. Maybe because I was getting used to the idea of being Drew's fiancée.

"Don't you think I should be the one mistrusting you? You've lied before. Like that time you said Max was gay and loved Brock?"

"What? Didn't I tell you that about Tracey? Max is straight, I should know. He's had so many girls over since his voice broke and he got contacts. I swear there were at least sixteen different girls last year, and he was only home after the Pokemon League!"

"...Wasn't he thirteen last year?"

"Yup."

"Wow."

"Uh-huh. Stop changing the subject!"

"Have you ever known me to back out when I promise you _that_ kind of reward?"

I blushed. It sounded so _wrong_, but I knew he meant food. He never backed down when he offered me food. Probably because he knew I would go crazy if anyone got between me and my food.

I played along, catching his glance towards the maid, who was blushing. What? I'm allowed to have a streak of mischief now and again, you know. I don't always have to be nice. "No, of course you haven't, but there's always a first time for everything!"

"What kind of person would deny you _that_ kind of reward?"

"A cruel, heartless one. Like you."

Drew ignored my last comment and said, "Or a stupid one. You get grumpy and frustrated when you don't get your reward."

"Why, yes, yes I do. Anyone would."

"True."

"Or maybe I could get my reward here, while I get my nails done?" The maid was looking extremely flushed and slightly worried.

"We wouldn't want to make a mess." Poor maid.

"Oh, sure, you say that now, but when we visited my parents, you deemed it fit to make a mess on the kitchen counter!" I felt sorry for her, really, I did; but it was just way too funny for me to stop. The mess thing was true, though, he'd pushed me into my ice cream then and we started to have a big dessert fight that Max and his then girlfriend Alicia joined us in. My parents almost killed me.

"Oh, come on, that was _one time_ –"

"And what about that time in the living room? I have some pretty awesome carpet there, mister, and you didn't seem to have a problem with us doing it there."

"I hate to break it to you, May, but the design on that carpet is ugly."

"It is not!"

"It is."

"It's not!

"It is."

"It's not!"

"It is."

"Shut up, it's not! I hate you sometimes!" I turned away from him, realizing that the treatment was almost over. That meant that our show was, too, so it was time for a good ending scene.

Drew caught on easily and said, in an extremely pained but quiet tone, "You... hate me?"

It was so real and life-like that I almost started crying right there. Instead, I turned to him hesitantly. "Maybe..." I said slowly and rather evasively. He knew what I was silently asking, though: _Where are you going with this?_

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"Yes, you did."

"I'm still sorry. I love you. Forgive me?"

I glanced at him in hesitation. Looking at the maid from the corner of my eye, I realized she was staring at us quite intently, as if we were a soap opera she happened to be in the middle of.

Laughing silently, I said to Drew, "How can I say no to that face?"

Drew smiled warmly and gathered me into a hug. "Sorry. I love you," he whispered, mostly for show.

"I love you, too," I said back to him, noting that the maid seemed to be melting with all the sap.

"Y-Your nails are done, Miss Maple," said the maid, releasing my hand. I pulled away and smiled at her, saying, "Thanks! Come on, Drew, I did as you asked, so let's go get my reward!"

Drew sighed and shook his head. "You have such a one track mind. Thank you for your time, Henrietta, we'll be going now."

Henrietta bowed and cast us both a slightly startled glance before hurriedly leaving, probably going to spread the word to the other servants. I had a feeling that this little stunt might come back to haunt me later, but I brushed that aside and grinned at Drew.

"Okay, Drew, let's go! I want my yummy reward!"

There was a little squeak and I think that Henrietta might have been listening in on us, but I dismissed it as nothing and dragged Drew out of the room by his wrist, much like he had done to me earlier.

I'm May Maple and no one (especially not stupid sexy Grasshead Drew!) is going to get between me and my banana split covered in hot fudge.

So _there_.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokemon. I just own.

I'm back! Whoo! Did ya'll miss me?!

-crickets chirping-

Stupid crickets.

*ahem*

I've been on hold for a long, long time, I know, but this chapter had been half done while I was still in the Engagement Troubles craze. I apologize for any changes in any character. I know I shouldn't make excuses for myself, but I blame the fact that I've been writing in NaNoWriMo, which is this writing thing that requires you to write 50,000 words in the month of November.

Sadly, because I neglected it in the beginning, my word count as of midnight 30th November 2009 was 49,006. So close and yet so far. –cries-

Anyway, I haven't been writing this for ages, and I hope I got their characters right. If they seem a bit iffy to you, I apologize entirely. Really, I do. And this chapter is a bit too random. Not plot-advancing in the slightest. I assure you that Marianne Fray will rear her ugly head soon!

Henrietta reminds me of a song. I don't know what song, but I know it's a song. You get a cookie if you remind me what song it is! Betty Crocker ones, the kind that takes only like fifteen 're awesome.

Oh, oh, oh, oh, go visit my profile and vote on the poll: Which Engagement Troubles Character Do You Like Best?

This concludes the extremely long-winded Author's Notes. :D

PS: Who can guess how old I am? Take a wild guess, every correct reviewer gets a cookie and a mention in the next Author's Notes. (Yes, this is a shameless ploy to get more reviews, ha ha)


	7. Shinies are Awesome

Engagement Troubles

By

Stars of Gold

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

**Chapter 6 – Shinies are Awesome**

Drew and I spent the afternoon practicing our appeals at opposite sides of the stage. We practiced a few appeals but only chose one at the end of the day, but our Pokemon knew every appeal we taught them by heart. It was a system we came up with so that we didn't end up knowing every single detail of each other's appeals and how to upstage it. Ultimately, we practiced about three different appeals, and each of them to a different Pokemon, so the Pokemon didn't get confused.

Finally, Denise came in quietly with a smile. "We're all going to the stadium to watch your performances now. Come on."

I took a deep breath. "All right, this is it. I'm ready. Let's go!"

Drew chuckled. "Nervous, May?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"_Oh, of course not; after all, I'm only going to be performing in front of YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY!_" was what I wanted to say, but I decided against it. Better not to show fear. Grassheads feed on it.

Instead, I said with an arrogant scoff (I picked up a lot of arrogance, hanging around Drew for so long), "Of course not, I'm not _you_."

"Yes, you aren't, which is why I'm the one who's won the Ribbon cup twice and you only once."

"Not for long! I'll win the Cup this year, you'll see."

"We're here," Denise interrupted, stopping in front of a huge Roman-gladiator-duel-to-the-death-style stadium.

"Your family is very dramatic with their architecture, aren't they?" I mused.

"Pretty much," said Drew.

Denise smiled. "You should see the Frays, they're even worse."

I cringed. "The Frays? As in _Marianne_ Fray?" I asked.

Drew nodded. "The Frays have much less money than we do, and thus a need to have a bigger and more extravagant house in order to show off what money they _do_ have. The union," here he shuddered, "between Marianne and myself," he shuddered again, even more violently than before, "is highly encouraged by her family because of this."

"They're going to have to get through _me_ if they want to get you to marry her," I snarled quite convincingly. Drew smiled. "And I'm sure they'll never get through you if you care about me as much as you care about your food," he teased, slipping an arm around my waist as we followed Denise into the building.

I pouted. "You're so mean. Why am I marrying you, again?" I joked, wrapping my own arm around his waist. Without blushing, mind you. We're getting better at that. Drew chuckled and kissed the top of my head. "Because you love me."

"And only goodness knows why I do."

Denise led us backstage. "Alright, then, you two. Drew, you'll perform first, and May right after. I'll be outside and I'll introduce you; I'm the emcee. Okay? Okay, now get ready. Ten minutes till showtime."

Then Denise put on a headset and disappeared through the curtain.

"Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3. Can you hear me?"

There was loud roar as the crowd agreed.

"Whoa," I said, turning to Drew. "How many people are _out_ there? Your family can't be _that_ big!"

Drew shrugged. "Knowing mom, she probably invited all of our neighbors. Yes, that means that Marianne Fray is out there, somewhere," he added, catching my look of surprise.

I made a face. "Think she'll try to break us up?"

"Um, _duh_."

"Just like your cousin will."

"Seth won't come that far."

"I was talking about Sally."

"Oh. Really?"

"She likes you."

"But she doesn't seem like she'd do that..."

"Why would I lie to you?"

"I don't know. Spite?"

"Over what?"

"Maybe you're trying to make me paranoid so I'll lose my cool onstage."

"You wouldn't lose your cool if twenty-seven Miltanks ran right past you and your Pokemon while you were onstage."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, my dear."

"It got me this shiny ring on my finger."

"No, that wasn't flattery. That was some sort of charm. Only Arceus knows why I asked you to marry you."

"Oh, face it, you couldn't last one day without me by your side."

"I could so!"

"Ha. Lost your cool."

"I did not! ...Oops."

May, 3; Drew, 52. Only 49 more arguments to win. Sigh. Stupid Drew and his stupid argument-winning power.

"And now we warmly welcome to this stage, after an absence of five years, our very own Top Coordinator, DREW!"

The crowd went absolutely crazy and even from backstage I almost went deaf.

I could practically see Drew's smile and wave. Then his face would turn to that of arrogant determination as he began, "Let's go..." and let out his Pokemon for the day–

There was the familiar sound of a Pokemon being released, combined with a less familiar Ball Capsule-enhanced tinkling of small pieces of ice falling to the ground.

Ice. Snow. That meant...

"Froslass!" finished Drew as Froslass agreed with a cry of her name. Froslass was a relatively new Pokemon of Drew's. She was a trade from Ash; Froslass kept trying to come on to his Glalie when Ash was carrying out a dare from Misty. The dare was to use only Ice-types while battling Brock's Rock and Ground-types. I know, interesting, right? Ice is good against Ground but Rock is good against Ice.

Froslass got all annoyed and snobbish when Ash reprimanded her for not focusing on the battle and refused to listen to him ever again. He figured that a snobbish Pokemon should get a snobbish trainer (hah, in your face Drew, you're _snobbish_), so he traded Froslass for one of Drew's more powerful Sneasels (he has like seven; there was a bit of a mishap with the Pokemon storage system, and the Sneasel he originally caught didn't show up on the screen when he checked so he panicked and went crazy).

Froslass is actually a big attention-seeker. Drew appeased her by training with her a lot more than his other Pokemon (she was new, he _had_ to train her more) and giving her three Ball Capsules – two more than one Pokemon generally got. After that, she warmed up to Drew and has since done nothing but adore him.

Me? She likes me, but that's because I'm the one who feeds her and gives her Pokeblock.

I sense your confusion.

Fact #1: Drew's bad at making Pokemon food and used to always buy food, but I got the recipes straight from Brock, Master Pokemon Breeder as he is, so I'm better at giving them real food but Drew's better at treats, that is, Pokeblock. But Pokemon need food to survive. They don't need Pokeblock, Mister Good-Pokeblock-Chef, Drew. So _there_.

Fact #2: Froslass is very picky. She only ever takes Pokeblock from me because she seems to know that Drew tries to use her (and the rest of his Pokemon) as a guinea pig for his newest Pokeblock recipe. She then refuses to even look at him for like two days. Yes, I laugh a lot about this.

So, for reasons that you probably understand, Froslass has really grown on me.

Oh, and Froslass is a Shiny. Yup, she's a Shiny Froslass. I think that's the reason she's such an attention-seeker – she's so used to having so much attention since she's a Shiny. Trainers were probably throwing Pokeballs at her left and right when she was wild. It figures that Ash would catch her. Probably lured her in with that big, strong Glalie of his. Geez.

Usually I like the normal Pokemon better than the Shinies (they're prettier – don't look at me like that, I'm a coordinator. I like making things pretty) but Froslass Shinies are less fashionably-challenged (who the heck wears orange anymore?) so I like them.

I think I just went way off-topic there. Sorry.

"Froslass, huh," I muttered to myself. "A bit risky, but she's always better in front of crowds. This is good training, I guess. I wish I could watch, though," I sighed, a little disappointed. Froslass was a bit of a wild card, but she was a brilliant performer, and I'd never seen her techniques outside sparring.

"There's a screen over there, you know," said a rather bushy man kindly. When I say bushy, I mean that his eyebrows were thick and his beard and mustache frizzy and thick (and green, naturally) like a forest. Man, I thought Percy had a beard, but he's got nothing on this guy.

"Oh," I said, blinking, as I made my way over to the screen. "Thanks. Is this being recorded?"

The man chuckled. "Of course. Our family's pretty well-known throughout La Rousse. We thought maybe the people would like to see the heir's homecoming."

"Ah. ...Wait, heir?"

The man frowned at me. "Of course. Drew's the heir to the company. He's the only son of the main family."

I was shocked. If Drew took over the company, then what about his travels with me? Was I supposed to settle down, too? No way, coordinators can't be rooted to one spot! We've got to travel and collect ribbons and take part in contests!

The man caught my worried look. "Don't worry. Drew don't have to take over till his father croaks, and his father is the toughest man you'll ever meet. You have at least two decades."

I smiled politely. "Thanks," I said to him before turning my attention to the screen.

"Froslass, Ice Beam!"

Froslass spoke her name in agreement and took up an elegant stance. Two orbs of light blue light gathered in her hands, and then she began to dance beautifully. With each passing arc of her arms, trails of ice followed. A line of ice followed her hands' path and slowly, there was a beautiful structure on stage. The ice sparkled in the sunlight, and the audience clapped enthusiastically.

Drew wasn't done yet. Of course he wasn't. "Now, Ice Shard and then use Ominous Wind!"

Froslass concentrated and sent out Ice Shards up to the sky above the crowds, and then a swirling purple wind appeared between her hands and she sent out two lines of purple that swirled beautifully in opposite directions before smashing apart every shard of ice with the wind. The ice shattered into tiny pieces and little bits of ice, more like snow, fell all over the audience.

It was beautiful, and a tough act to follow. Precision like that must have taken him ages to perfect, especially with a new Pokemon like Froslass.

Well, there was only one option at the moment, and that was to upstage Drew. Not easy, but not particularly hard, either.

"And now, we introduce to our stage for the first time ever, the winner of last year's Ribbon Cup, and Drew's greatest rival and fiancée, MAY!"

I came running into the sunshine, and the crowd cheered. They weren't nearly as loud as they were when Drew made his appearance, but I was glad that they even cheered at all. I was afraid I'd be running out and there'd be this awkward silence.

I could distinctly hear Diana shouting some sort of encouragement from her place in the stands, so I flashed her a smile (though I didn't know what she'd said) and tossed a Pokeball into the air.

"Ninetales, take the stage!"

Ninetales came out in a burst of flame (thanks to another Ball Capsule). Ninetales is a new Pokemon of mine. This would be her first ever appeal in front of a real audience. I was confident, though; Ninetales was a smart Pokemon, and she was very serious about her work. Much like Drew's Absol.

"Ninetales, let's start out with a Fire Spin!"

"Ninetales!" agreed Ninetales, beautiful fire spilling from her mouth.

My appeal was going to rock the house, and no Drew and his shiny Froslass (or Marianne Fray in the audience) was going to stop that.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

DISCLAIMER: I've never caught a shiny in my life. It's sad, really. If I owned Pokemon, I'd give myself dozens and dozens of shinies!

_**MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!**_

I'm cutting off here because I feel like a -insert swear word here- for not updating in so long. So here you guys go, and so far no one has guessed my age correctly. I enjoyed the idea of being 157 years old though (this is for you, Asuka Masura! I loled at your guess of 157) but no, unfortunately, I'm not. There has been a close guess or maybe two, but no one's hit the nail on the head yet.

And here's a shout out to Under The Elements for being the 50th reviewer! Yay! You've been with me from day one, my third reviewer as well as my fiftieth. So here I award you with a hugely gigantic cookie! Chocolate chip, I baked them myself. Every other reviewer gets a smaller cookie, but a cookie nonetheless.

Oh, oh, shout out to Praticia Pandemonium for reminding me of the song by the Fratellis! You get an extra cookie!

And here I say that everyone who guesses my age correctly gets a present-fic! I'm kind of in a plot slump right now, and I need some inspiration. Hee hee. I'll PM you if your guess is right, and then I'll crank out a story based on your plots, pairings and maybe even fandoms, if I know it. No guarantees, though. It might take me an incredibly long time to write your fic, but I promise I'll do it! ...Eventually.

Loving my faithful readers who actually bother to read my notes,

Stars of Gold.

PS: Since I mentioned my fiftieth reviewer, I should mention my first ever reviewer, Arysd! Whoo! You get a huge cookie to add to the one you already have! :D


	8. Midnight Kiss

Engagement Troubles

By

Stars of Gold

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

**Chapter 7 – Midnight Kiss**

"Ninetales, let's start out with a Fire Spin!"

"Ninetales!" agreed Ninetales, beautiful fire spilling from her mouth. The fire swirled all around her artistically and broke through the ice structures Drew's Froslass had made, easily melting the ice and evaporating the water left behind.

I could see Drew nodding at me from where he leaned against the wall in front of his immediate family. He understood my challenge, and it seemed like he'd actually been expecting it.

"Alright, then, Ninetales. Let's have a Will-o-Wisp!"

Light blue fireballs appeared around Ninetales, and then were scattered across the stage. Somehow, they looked pretty in a slightly creepy way, unlike how sinister it had looked when Harley's Banette had used it way back when.

"And now, Tail Whip!"

"Nine," said Ninetales, nimbly rising from her seat on the ground and leaping all over the stage, her tails whipping out at every fireball she could reach. Soon, the last fireball was demolished, and she landed on the ground gracefully after jumping high to reach a particularly troublesome fireball.

"Good job! Now, let's wrap it up with a little Flamethrower up to the sky!" I cried, improvising since the stadium was open air. Ninetales knew what I wanted her to do, though – although we usually practiced for closed auditoriums, I taught her how I wanted her to throw a Flamethrower into the sky should we ever have an open air contest.

"Ninetales!" she chirped, raising her head to the sky and releasing a beautiful pillar of fire with thinner strands of hot, white fire wrapping themselves around it. I smiled up at the fire, happy that my appeal had gone pretty well.

The fire tapered off gracefully, and there was a moment of silence as I turned to the crowd and bowed nervously. Silence could go either way, and I wasn't arrogant enough to think that they were definitely awed by my appeal. They were Drew's family. They could be even more critical than he was.

I panicked a little and glanced at Drew. Drew was smiling in that certain way of his that meant grudging respect. I grinned widely, because I knew I'd impressed him. Right there and then, it didn't matter to me that his whole family was still silent, because Drew, the only one who actually knew what good appeals were inside and out, was impressed with me.

Then, suddenly, there was a roar of applause, and I blinked a little before beaming at the crowd and bowing deeply. I returned Ninetales to her Pokeball and made my way off the stage to Drew.

"That was awesome, dude!" Diana cried excitedly.

Danielle nodded in agreement. "Totally."

"Good job," said Demelza simply.

"Oh, that was wonderful, May, dear!" gushed Eloise happily.

"...Not bad," said Drew, giving me a half-smile.

"She was more than 'not bad'! Where are your manners?" scolded Eloise, bopping Drew on the head.

"What a stellar performance from May!" Denise said from the stage. The crowd cheered. "Yeah! She was great. But now, sadly, our coordinators have performed, and we have to disperse. See you all next time! Bye!" Denise bowed elaborately, then ducked backstage.

Grassheads, I found out, were very orderly when leaving in massive numbers. They were also very polite; every grasshead that passed by Drew and I congratulated us. One lady even took a picture of us and got us to sign it. She said it was for her niece and nephew, both of whom were eight and big fans of ours. I was flattered; Drew exchanged pleasantries for a moment before letting her get swept away by the current of people.

Then Drew murmured, "Oh, no," and slipped an arm around my waist. "That's her," he hissed, gesturing subtly towards a girl walking towards us with very obviously artificial beauty. "Other than a surgically enhanced nose and makeup that's way too loud, there isn't anything wrong with h – ...oh."

Obviously, that girl was Marianne Fray. She had to be. Fake nose, too thick makeup – of course it was her.

Naturally, I was right.

"Hey, Drew," she said in what I supposed was meant to be a flirty manner. "Remember me?"

I cleared my throat and slid my own arm around Drew's waist. "Drew, who is this? Your childhood sweetheart?" I asked in a perfectly innocent, sweet tone.

Drew chuckled. "No, we're just neighbors." I noticed the way he didn't even say that they were friends. I quite liked it. For some reason, I was feeling very possessive over Drew.

Possessive in a _friendly_ way. Not jealous. _Not jealous._

Marianne smiled at me with an undertone of ferocity that was just barely well-concealed enough to slip under Drew's radar for bitchiness. Hey, what can I say? He's a guy, these things slip by him more easily. "Hey there, May. I'm Marianne Fray, heiress of the Fray fashion empire. Maybe you've heard of me? I wouldn't be surprised; Fray Fashion is all the rage now."

I smiled charmingly. "Hi, it's nice to meet you!" I said cheerfully, reminding myself not to offer a hand to shake and settling for waving instead. "I'm Drew's fiancée, May Maple. I'm a coordinator. Maybe you've heard of me? I wouldn't be surprised; I'm sure you read news about Drew, and where there's news about Drew, there's news about me."

Marianne's lips pursed in annoyance. "Why, yes, I have heard of you. But why have I never heard of your relationship?"

"Well," I began, laughing nervously. "It's kind of embarrassing, but, well..." I lowered my voice and leaned in. "Drew and I, we get stalked. By paparazzi, you know? They want the big scoop on our personal lives." I nodded firmly. Drew, catching on quickly, added, "Plus, we're friends with some of the big names in the Pokemon world – Ash Ketchum, Tracey Sketchit, Professor Oak – and they think we might have some juicy gossip about them."

"My father isn't exactly the most... lenient of fathers –"

Drew snorted. "No kidding."

I slapped his chest half-heartedly. "Quiet, you," I told him before turning back to Marianne. "So if my father found out that I was dating the boy I was travelling around with, well..."

"I'd be six feet under by now," said Drew grimly. I nodded.

"I guess that makes sense," she muttered. I could tell she was still doubtful of our relationship, though.

My suspicion was confirmed when she said, quite bluntly, "I want to see you two kiss."

I fought down a blush.

"What? Why?" asked Drew, confused.

Marianne narrowed her eyes. "I need to see that this is real and that this isn't just a ploy to get your inheritance without having to marry me," she said. "It's just one kiss, nothing big."

"Well..." I trailed off. I hadn't had my first kiss yet, and Drew probably knew that too. To take it away because of some ploy... well, it wasn't right.

"May's shy about kissing in public," Drew said, shaking his head. "Maybe tomorrow, in the sanctuary of my own home?"

Marianne's lips pressed themselves into a thin line and her eyes narrowed to slits. "Fine. Tomorrow. I'll be over at 2 o' clock. I want proof." Then she spun on her heel and left.

"Well, at least she's straightforward about it," I said. "Better than if she threatened me behind your back."

Drew made a face. "I don't understand why anyone would do that," he said in disgust, not realizing that his cousin, Sally, who incidentally happened to be walking by and accidentally eavesdropping on us, had done just that. "I hate people who can't tell you something bad to your face," continued Drew. "If you have a problem with me, tell it to my face. You know what I mean?"

Sally, behind him, paled. I sighed, looking at Sally pointedly as I said, "Some people are just so _dishonest_."

To my delight, she turned as white as a sheet and scurried away.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The rest of the day was quite uneventful. Drew was feeling lethargic that day, so we let our Pokemon run free in the field of grasshead Pokemon. It was nice and peaceful, and no one else was there but the Pokemon, playing happily in the grass.

"...Drew?"

"Hm?"

"About tomorrow... um..."

"You've never done it before?"

"Y-Yeah."

"S'okay. Neither have I."

"...Uh-huh."

"It's true!"

"Right."

"Stop that. I'm being completely serious."

"...Seriously?"

"I just said I was being completely serious."

"Really? Huh. Always thought you were the playboy type."

"What?! May, I'm surprised at you! How could you think such a thing about me?"

"It's not my fault! You have like fifty million fangirls chasing you everywhere! How am I _not_ supposed to think that about you?!"

Snort. "Like I'd _kiss_ one of them?!"

"Well, you never know! You could be this gigantic heartbreaker or something!"

"And I thought you knew me."

"I do know you. I just don't know what you were doing before we started traveling together."

"Okay, let's stop this bickering."

"Only because you're losing."

"Stop. Now."

"Fine. Party pooper."

Then a different voice rang out through the field.

"Drew, May! Dinner!"

And so we went to dinner.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After dinner, Drew's sisters dragged us into a game of Monopoly (Special Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh Version!). I happily obliged – Max wasn't exactly very interested in board games when we were little, so I grew up without knowing the wonders of Monopoly. Drew, however, made a face and groaned. Unfortunately for him, he was unable to resist the power of his four sisters and was made to sit in between Demelza and I.

"This is so not going to end well," he muttered darkly, picking the boot and placing it on the GO square. I blinked, gently placing my figurine of a Rapidash and its rider (that looked suspiciously like Ash) next to Drew's boot. "Why? What's wrong?" I asked.

Drew shook his head. "You'll see."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Mew," I said, my mouth opening in shock.

"Yep," said Drew grimly.

I'd landed on Petalburg City. I know what you're thinking: Petalburg City, huh? So-so. Not terribly cheap. Shouldn't be any problem, though.

Let me rephrase.

I'd landed on a version of Petalburg City that suddenly had a bright red hotel in the middle of it.

That's right. A _hotel_. I had just enough to pay for it – leaving me with a measly 10 dollar bill. I even had to mortgage all of my property to Demelza. Killed by my own hometown. Woe is me.

Grumbling, I rolled the dice again (I'd rolled a double earlier) and ended up paying my last 10 dollars to Denise, and that didn't even cover the amount I had to pay.

"I hate this game," I grumbled, falling backwards onto the carpet. Drew joined me shortly, gripping my hand in his. He'd been bankrupted about five minutes ago, and though I hadn't laughed, his sisters had. They were all extraordinarily good at Monopoly.

Drew and I stared up at the ceiling, holding hands to give the illusion of intimacy. We listened to his sisters playing Monopoly for a while. It was comfortable and strangely peaceful.

"NOOOOOO!!"

Until Danielle landed on a piece of property that cost her half of her hard-earned money.

"Well," I said, standing since the spell of comfort had been broken. "I'm kind of tired. I'm going to sleep. Drew?" I questioned, looking at him staring up at me from his position on the carpet.

"Hmm? Yeah, sleep sounds good. G'night, sis," he added, and all four of his sisters replied absently, "Yeah, goodnight."

"See you all in the morning!" I said cheerfully.

"And don't jump on us again, or I swear I will sic May's Ninetales on you," warned Drew, glaring at Diana and Danielle in particular. There was an annoyed murmur of consent, and then he was waved away impatiently as Danielle and Diana kept careful count of the money changing hands.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I'd been so tired outside in the living room, but right then, lying in Drew's bed with him in his room, I just couldn't sleep. I didn't want to bother Drew, though, so instead I stared at his walls and noted that they looked a little more like a purplish blue in the night instead of the bluish purple that it was in broad daylight.

Hey, I rhymed!

Ahem.

"May?" Drew whispered. "You awake?"

"Yeah," I replied softly, turning to him. "What is it?"

Drew smiled a little. "That's what I was going to ask you. You usually fall asleep so easily. What's wrong?"

I sighed and shook my head, leaving Drew to interpret my meaning. We knew each other well enough to do that effectively.

"The kiss?"

See? He hit the nail on the head.

"Y-Yeah. I just... I don't want to lose my first kiss to some _act_, you know?" I said, frustrated. Drew nodded in understanding. "It's going to happen, but..." he hesitated.

I frowned in curiosity. "But what?"

"It doesn't have to be our first." If I didn't know any better, I'd think that Drew was blushing. But, of course, Drew was Drew, and Drew wouldn't blush about this. Would he?

"What do you mean it doesn't have to – ...oh." I blushed brightly, and I fervently hoped that it was masked in the darkness.

"We're going to have to kiss tomorrow, anyway, so we might as well kiss now so we don't look back and say, 'Oh, I had my first kiss in front of this girl called Marianne Fray because she didn't believe that I was engaged for real,'" said Drew, making his voice squeak high.

I giggled. "Well, I guess it _is_ the lesser of two evils," I said slowly, nervously. How awkward was it going to be if we had to sleep in the same bed?

"Yup."

"And we're doing this as friends. _Strictly_ as friends. So that both of our first kisses aren't fake," I babbled nervously.

"Of course," said Drew quite smoothly.

Silence. A silence I filled by sitting up and gesturing for him to do the same. "It'll be easier sitting up, don't you think?" I said softly, awkwardly.

Drew didn't say anything. He put a hand on my cheek, tilted his head to the side and leaned in. My eyes closed, almost involuntarily, and our lips met in a gentle kiss.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

DISCLAIMER: If I owned Pokemon, this scene right before the page break would have happened a long, long time ago.

I'M FINALLY BACK! For a really, really, really, really long period of time, this story was idle. BUT NO MORE! Not for today at least, because I come with a new chapter and their first kiss!

I'm not too satisfied with this one, though. I feel like my characterization has gone off, especially since I've left this one alone for ages now. Do tell me what you think!

As for the age thing, you may all guess again! Because this is a new year, my age has gone up by a year, so every age you guessed in 2009 that was shunned might be true for 2010 (wink wink)! No one has guessed my real age in 2010, so it's still open. Search my reviews for clues! Like I said, **winner gets a fic from me!**

Love,

Stars of Gold


	9. Stage ON!

Engagement Troubles

By

Stars of Gold

* * *

**Chapter 8 - Stage ON!**

Drew and I were to stay at his house for four days. We were going to enter a contest on the third day and then spend one more (almost) completely carefree day with his family before leaving. Eloise had wanted us to stay for longer, but Drew refused.

I knew what he meant, though; as Coordinators, we couldn't afford to waste any time in our pursuit of Ribbons. There were a lot of Coordinators, and just because we two were the best in the Hoenn Coordinator world didn't mean that we could afford to slack off and lose Ribbons to a fresh upstart because of carelessness.

Four days was already pushing our schedule, but Drew assured me that his family had two Charizards that knew the way home, so we could fly them to our next destination rather than go on foot.

"May, there's a phone call for you!" Danielle called from the living room.

"Coming!" I yelled back, hopping down the carpeted stairs lightly in my bare feet. "Mom!" I said cheerfully as I saw her face, sat down and picked up the phone. "Hey! How'd you know I'd be here?"

Mom smiled. "Oh, I have my ways."

Max came into the background and snorted, "Yeah, like my common sense. I heard about the contest in La Rousse, so I figured you guys would be headed there, judging by your previous location. I also figured you'd be staying with Drew's family since they're in La Rousse. Then I consulted the Yellow Pages and voila."

"How are you, honey?" Mom asked. Max grinned. "Are you having _fun_ at Drew's?" he asked slyly.

"Max!" Mom and I chorused in horror. Mom smacked his shoulder. "Don't tease your sister, young man!"

"But Mom, you _know_ she likes him!" whined Max.

"However true that may be–"

"Mom!" I protested, mortified.

"–you still can't say things like that about your sister," Mom finished, grinning at me. I groaned and put my face in my free hand.

Mom laughed, then she paused and frowned. "May," she said slowly, and I knew that things were serious now. She never used my real name without any endearments unless there was something serious she had to talk about.

"What is it, Mom?" I asked, immediately concerned.

"There was... a ring on your left hand." She gave me a stern look. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

Inwardly, I swore a very serious swear that no one should ever hear. Outwardly, I held the receiver between my ear and my shoulder and took off my ring out of the camera's view. I transferred the ring to my middle finger while saying, "Oh, that? I just saw it in a shop and it was so pretty! I couldn't afford it, though, so Harley and Solidad got it for me as an early birthday gift."

I held up my left hand again, showing Mom the ring that was now on my middle finger. "Isn't it beautiful?"

Mom smiled and bought the explanation. "Yes, dear, it is. It's almost exactly the same shade of blue as your eyes!"

Max rolled his eyes, but still seemed a bit suspicious. "Girls. I'll see you some other time, sis."

"Okay, bye, Max!" I said cheerfully, waving.

Mom smiled at me. "So how are things going, really?"

"Well... I like Drew's family. They're all very nice."

"That's good. He's a nice boy, that Drew. You sure there's nothing–?"

"No, Mom, there's nothing between us but _friendship_." Technically it was a lie, since normal friends don't kiss.

Mom sighed. "You can't blame me for hoping. I want grandchildren, you know? But not too early, young lady," she said warningly. "You're 17. Wait until you're at least 21, please?"

I rolled my eyes. "Duh. I'm not stupid, Mom."

"Of course you aren't. Well, I have to go; my cookies are almost done and I want to make sure Max doesn't steal some. Goodbye, May, dear, I love you!"

"Bye Mom!"

The screen went black as she hung up. Releasing a sigh of relief, I put the phone back in its cradle and put my ring back onto my ring finger. "That was way too close," I murmured, standing up and stretching.

"May, catch," Drew said as he tossed me a canned drink. "How was your talk with your mother?"

"Fine," I said, popping open the can and downing a gulp of the grape soda. It was taking a bit more effort to actually look him in the eye because ever since that kiss, I'd been itching to do it again. Of course, if Drew felt the same way, he was hiding it well. "I forgot to take off the ring and she saw. I moved it to my middle finger off-screen and passed it off as a gift from Harley and Solidad."

Drew snorted as he flopped onto the couch. "Nice save. Remember to move it to your middle finger again when we go for the contest later." The contest was going to be held at ten in the morning; at the time of the conversation, it was eight thirty.

I frowned and sat down next to him. "Why not just take it off? It'll cause a huge mess if I wear it in public, what with the rumors going around that we're dating and all."

Drew sighed. "May, May, May. If your mother sees the news in the magazine about you winning the contest in La Rousse –or getting a close second," he added, smiling arrogantly. I snorted, "You wish."

"–and there's no news of you wearing a ring, she'll be suspicious. Why take it off if it means nothing, you know?"

I nodded in understanding. "Ah, I see. But then the paparazzi are going to go crazy! They'll never let us have a moment of peace! They'll think the ring is a promise ring or something."

"Let them think what they want to," said Drew, sipping his own drink. "It's not like they matter, and your mother can explain to your father about the ring thing."

I sighed. "I suppose. You know they won't leave us alone when we get back on the road?"

"I know, but we've dealt with that before, right?"

"Right!"

But was it worth lying to my _mother_ to save a friend?

* * *

I went with Beautifly for the appeals, and Drew went with Roselia.

I got to do my appeal first, after a girl named Rachel and before a guy called Frank. Somehow, Eloise, Demelza, Diana and Danielle had been allowed backstage with us – probably because Denise, who turned out to be the host of every La Rousse contest, had pulled some strings. Or perhaps because their family was the most influential family on the island.

It was almost time for my appeal, and I did my usual pre-performance routine: I took a deep breath, rubbed my hands together and wiped them on my pants. "Okay, I'm ready. Let's do this!"

"Aren't you going to give her a kiss for luck, Drew-Drew?" Diana drawled, grinning slyly. I blushed despite myself, and Drew said, "Nah, May's shy about kissing in public. How about... a hug?"

"Oh, come on," Danielle said. "Not like anyone's around anyway. We're in a more secluded part of backstage." We were, because Drew and I liked to stay in secluded corners, away from the rookie Coordinators who liked to ask for our autographs.

I hesitated. "Well..."

"We haven't actually seen you guys kiss since you got here, you know," Demelza said thoughtfully.

"Oh, go on. We won't tell!" Diana urged.

Drew sighed. "Will it get you to shut up?" he asked, annoyed. Diana and Danielle nodded enthusiastically. "It will, just kiss her!"

"And now, I welcome Grand Festival winner May to the stage!" Denise cried from the stage. The crowd went wild.

Drew pulled me into a quick, hard kiss that lingered for barely two moments, then pushed me towards the doorway and called after me, "Don't make this easy for me, May!"

My body acted on its own when I grinned and shouted back, "I won't!" and then ran out onstage.

La Rousse cheered. I grinned, getting into my element and resolving to think about the kiss later. Right then, I had a contest to win.

"Beautifly, take the stage!" I cried, throwing Beautifly's pokeball enthusiastically.

The appeal I did was the one I had practiced on our second day in Grasshead territory. There were only a few minor differences – Beautifly's String Shot was golden and she drew a sun and a moon instead of our names.

The sparkles of gold and silver were still raining down on the audience when Denise called out, "What a beautiful performance by May! Give her a round of applause, folks!"

The audience obliged, and I took a bow before making my way offstage with Beautifly fluttering behind me.

I made my way backstage and grinned at Drew. "Thanks for making the Pokeblock that would make String Shot golden."

Drew nodded in acknowledgement. "No problem. Good job."

"You did great, dear!" Eloise said, squeezing me in a hug. Drew's sisters joined in and hugged me through their mother.

"Aw, you did awesome, May!" "Even little brother will have trouble upstaging _that_!" "You and Drewbie make such a wonderfully creative pair," they all said simultaneously. I gave Drew a pleading look, a look that he shrugged at but made no move to help.

When they did let go of me, it was to hug Drew instead. It was almost his turn to go up, so they smothered him in 'good luck's and 'you'll be awesome's and so on. It was great that his family was so supportive.

"You do good up there," I said, giving him a hug and ruffling his hair. Drew made a face, rearranged his hair and said, "Yeah, I will."

Then he sauntered out into the sunshine.

"Let's go, Roselia!"

Ah, Roselia. I hadn't seen her in a contest for a while.

"Let's hear it for a fellow La Rousse native!" Denise called out as both Roselia and Drew took a bow. The audience cheered like crazy. "Yeah! Okay, little brother, let's see what you've got!"

Drew saluted Denise, then cried, "Roselia, open with Sweet Scent!"

A... well... sweet scent wafted through the air. I could smell it from backstage and it had a major calming effect.

"Okay, now spin!"

Roselia spun around like a ballerina, gaining speed with every revolution.

"Bullet Seed, then Poison Sting!"

Brown seeds arced gracefully through the air and were soon pierced by sharp needles. The shish-kebab-like result landed, standing, in a circle around Roselia.

"Finish it off with Petal Dance!"

Roselia released pink cherry blossom petals as her spinning slowed and eventually came to a stop. The petals swirled in a beautiful spiral - her hands had been pointed up towards the sky. She posed briefly, then bowed, Drew bowing with her.

The crowd went wild.

"Yeah! Awesome, little brother! As to be expected from a previous Top Coordinator."

Drew flipped his hair, then sauntered backstage, grinning confidently.

His mother and sisters showered him in compliments – "Fantastic job, Drewbie!" "Beautiful!" "You did great up there, kid!" "Magnificent! Truly magnificent!"

I offered him a grin and said, "Nice. You using Roselia for your matches?"

He shook his head. "No. You using Beautifly?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Ooh, they're announcing results!"

Drew's was the first face on the list of coordinators that had made it through to the next round. Mine was the second.

"Yes!" I cheered, pumping a fist in the air. Drew chuckled. "I can't believe you're still so excited about making it through. You've been coordinating for seven years."

I grinned sheepishly. "Well, I don't always make it through, you know."

"I know. Oh, I know."

"Shut up."

* * *

The matches had been decided – I'd be going up against a Lola girl and Drew would be going up against Frank. Drew's match was first, and he breezed through it with minor damage with Sandy. Yes, Sandy the Jealous Swellow.

She pecked me when he came backstage and I swear she wouldn't stop _glaring_ at me. I could feel her eyes drilling holes into the back of my head when it was my turn to go on.

I chose an old friend this time – Blaziken. Lola had a Bug-type – Butterfree – so I had an easy enough time when it came to attacks, though I had to watch out for Psychic and status ailments.

Finally, it was time to battle Drew.

"Good luck," I said, grasping his hand in a handshake.

"And the same to you," he replied, his tone serious. Sandy made a noise of indignation and flew over to peck my hand sharply, making me drop Drew's hand and yelp in pain.

Drew snorted. "Wimp," he said to me as Sandy landed on his arm. I stuck my tongue out. "Your Swellow has a grudge against me."

"And now," Denise cried into her microphone. "The match you've all been waiting for – Drew vs. May!"

We looked at each other from opposite sides of the backstage area, nodded, then walked out into the sunshine.

I wasn't going to lose to Drew.

And I definitely wasn't going to lose to Sandy!

* * *

"Sandy, Aerial Ace!"

"Blaziken, light a huge fire around yourself!"

Sandy dove at Blaziken at an incredible speed and actually managed to damage Blaziken and get out of there before he managed to get his fire up. My points went down.

Fortunately, the speed of the attack had made it a pretty weak one. Sandy had rushed to get a hit in before the fire came up to protect Blaziken, so it was a lot weaker than a usual Aerial Ace.

"Brave Bird!" I shouted.

"Double Team!" Drew shouted back.

I grinned. Blaziken glowed blue and charged all three Sandys – from the side. Drew's points went down. Sandy was obviously more hurt than Blaziken, barely able to get up and fight.

"Endeavor!" Drew called. I hissed and cried, "Light a fire!"

This time, Blaziken was quick enough to light a fire before Sandy could get to a safe distance away, but not before she'd attacked him with Endeavor.

"Aerial Ace!" roared Drew, knowing that Sandy, while partially on fire, wasn't in that much danger – Pokemon fire isn't nearly as destructive as human fire. It just hurts, it doesn't burn. In all honesty, it was beautiful, Sandy diving at Blaziken at breakneck speed, the fire on her tail glowing orange and leaving a trail of orange behind her.

Blaziken was hit faster than I could issue a command, and with that, Blaziken fainted.

Drew quickly put out the fire on Sandy's tail with a water bottle Denise handed him.

"And the winner of the La Rousse Contest is DREW!" Denise cried. The audience went crazy cheering. I smiled and returned Blaziken to his pokeball.

"Good job, Drew," I called, smiling. "It won't be so easy next time!"

Drew scoffed and flipped his hair, grinning back at me. "We'll see about that," he informed me.

* * *

DISCLAIMER: Nah, don't own Pokemon. If I did, I'd totally create the option of choosing your character. Then I'd choose to play as Drew and collect all his Pokemon and pwn Contests and stuff. Also I'd get rid of the need for bloody Poffins and Pokeblock to enhance Pokemon attributes. That's just bullshit.

I know. I know. I know. This chapter took far too long. I know. I know. I know. I know. A couple of people actually PMed me about it. I felt really bad, but I had Writer's Block and marching and a sketch (I wrote the script and directed!) and choir and being choir pianist (not fun).

Sigh. Sorry if it sucks. I'll rewrite it if it does. I just really want to put this chapter up for you guys. I feel really bad. D:

Bloody Fanfiction won't let me do my usual pagebreak so you're stuck with this one.

100th reviewer: loljuhi, I believe. Thanks dude. :D I've never gotten a hundred reviews before.

The age guessing thing is still going on. I'm flattered at the ages you think I am because that's the age I'm aiming to seem, be it younger than I really am or older.

PS: The title, 'Stage ON!' is a phrase that Haruka (May's Japanese counterpart) says before releasing her Pokemon. May uses 'Take the stage!' instead. I thought that Stage ON sounded nicer as a title.

Love

Stars of Gold


	10. Meet the Father

Engagement Troubles

By

Stars of Gold

* * *

**Chapter 9 – Meet the Father**

When we got back to Drew's place, a maid came up to us and said, "Sir Andrew has returned home."

Eloise smiled, but her children grimaced. "He's not going to like Drew being home," muttered Danielle. Diana snorted. "He's going to breathe fire. I just don't understand why he hates Drew so much and not the rest of us."

Eloise's expression faltered slightly, something I didn't notice until later on.

"I'm sure he has his reasons," said Denise quietly, unlike her onstage boisterousness. "Drew, you and May should go and greet him."

Drew sighed wearily. "Better to get it over with, I suppose. Come on, May. He'll be expecting us."

* * *

Drew knocked on the door harder than he usually would – Drew's usual knock was soft and gentle, probably something his father didn't like about him.

"Enter," said a voice from within. I hugged him reassuringly and kissed him on the cheek on impulse. "Good luck," I whispered. Drew nodded, then entered the room, leaving the door ajar.

"Father," Drew said, bowing slightly. "How was the meeting?"

"It was fine, thank you for asking." Andrew (Drew's father – yes, Drew was named after him) had a deep baritone voice that was quite a bit lower than his son's. It was deceptively pleasant to the ear. "And you're still Coordinating?"

Drew stiffened. "Yes, father."

"Hm." Andrew's tone was disapproving. "And your chosen fiancée?"

Drew stepped towards the door and opened it wider. "May," he said softly, and I smiled as I stepped into the room with posture more perfect than ever before.

"Nice to meet you, sir," I said, curtsying politely as Denise had taught me to.

Andrew got up from his desk and circled me like a hawk. "Hm. And you are?"

"May Maple, sir. Daughter of Norman Maple, the Petalburg Gym Leader."

Andrew raised his eyebrows. "Petalburg Gym, eh? Hm. I suppose you're a Normal-type Trainer, too?"

I shook my head. "I'm a Coordinator."

Andrew's demeanor turned icy. "I see. Major accomplishments as a Coordinator?"

"I won the Ribbon Cup last year–"

"You want to marry the girl who took your title as Top Coordinator?" Andrew interrupted dryly, looking at Drew.

Drew nodded. "She's the best, and I will have nothing short of the best."

"Hm. But you love her?"

Drew's eyes met mine for a moment that seemed to pass in slow motion. Then he smiled softly, as if he were unable to keep it off of his face, and looked at his father as he said, "Of course I love her. I love her more than anything in the world."

Even I, knowing that it was a lie, melted a bit inside. Andrew's expression, however, didn't change. "And you, Ms. May? Do you love my son as much as he loves you?"

I glanced at Drew and smiled a small smile. "Yes," I heard myself say. "If not just as much, more."

Andrew nodded in approval, then sat back at his desk. "Drew, while I do not like the fact that you have chosen to become a Coordinator, I find your choice in women... well, she's not the best, but you love her, so... she is satisfactory. You have my blessing."

Drew bowed. "Thank you, father."

"You may go. Send your sisters in next, if you would?"

* * *

"Well, that wasn't so bad," I said casually as we made our way to the living room. "I mean, he was kind of cold and distant, but at least he wasn't–"

It was then that Drew pinned me up against the wall and kissed me.

Yeah, I had no idea why, either. But the point is that he kissed me and that kissing is just one of those things that never gets old even though you do it a million times.

I'm not going to give you the exact details of the kiss (because come on, I deserve my privacy!), but I will tell you that Drew is good at what he does and there may or may not have been tongue.

We were making out very pleasantly when there was a gasp.

Drew and I broke apart, cheeks flushed and eyes wide.

"Well, well, it looks like you two weren't lying after all," said Marianne Fray, grinning as she tossed her purple hair. It really was eerily similar to Harley's, though recently Harley'd gotten his hair straightened and hers was wavy like the old Harley's had been.

She also has a Cacturne outfit, but she's only worn it once, on Halloween. Of course, I didn't find out about this till later.

Harley hadn't been wearing his Cacturne outfit at the time, though. "Honchkrow is all the rage now, darling," he'd said to me. "Cacturne is soo last season." The irony is that he changed back into his Cacturne outfit six months later, claiming that, "Cacturne is the new Honchkrow, sweetie! Get with the times!"

I've known him for years, and I still don't get him. He's the most insane man I've ever met.

Solidad's the most calm, rational woman I know. Funny how they're good friends.

Anyway.

"Congratulations on your engagement," she said, smiling genuinely. "I really hoped that it was real."

I was confused. The Marianne Fray I'd met the day before had been a horrible, arrogant bitch. And I don't usually swear.

"Wait, wait, wait. Aren't you trying to break us apart or something?" I asked. Marianne shook her head. "I never intended to do such a thing. I just wanted to find out if you guys were serious, and, well, I guess I did. You guys are in love. You have that look in your eyes," she added, winking.

I blinked.

"Well, anyway, I've got to go. I'm meeting my fiancé at a cafe in town." She giggled and wiggled her fingers at us. "You two be good to each other!"

And just like that, she left.

There was a moment of shocked silence before something hit me. Figuratively. Not literally.

"So... So you mean I didn't have to do this in the first place? You could have come back without a fiancée and she wouldn't have been able to marry you!" I exclaimed.

"Shhh!" Drew admonished. "Someone could hear you. Plus, she wouldn't have been allowed to marry him if I'd come back fiancée-less; her parents probably put business before pleasure and would have forced her into a marriage with me, which wouldn't have done either of us any good."

I shook my head. "Man. What is it with La Rousse and hidden personalities?"

Drew blinked. "Huh?"

Right. He didn't know about Sally.

I smiled and dismissed the matter with a wave. "Oh, nothing. Don't worry about it."

Drew frowned at me suspiciously. "If you say so," he said, his tone disbelieving.

I grinned. "I do. Now come on! We have to tell your sisters to go see your dad."

"...Oh. Right."

Then we left.

* * *

We spent the rest of the day in the compound doing something or other. We played many childish games, you know, like hide and seek and kick the can. With our pokemon, naturally.

Oh, but I should probably tell you about the double battle we had with Danielle and Diana.

Yup. Drew's sisters were all pretty good at battles. Denise was the worst, Demelza a close second, then Danielle and finally Diana as the best. Demelza said she was only good with her husband as her partner because they knew each other so well they could predict what the other was going to do next.

Danielle chose to use a Lapras, who was released into a nearby swimming pool. Diana, however, chose a Charizard. "They're totally badass," she said, grinning.

Drew ignored her and let out his Flygon. I went with Skitty.

"Flygon!"

"Nya, nya!"

"Ooh, a Skitty! It's cute," said Danielle, her eyes sparkling. "Say, May, you wouldn't happen to mind trading–"

"Sorry, no."

"Aw! But we're family! Or... well... we're _going_ to be family!" whined Danielle, pouting and crossing her arms. I smiled apologetically. "I can't trade away one of my best. Not with _this_ jerk waiting for me to slip up," I said, gesturing to Drew. Drew ignored me and studied his nails.

"Are we going to start or what?" Diana called impatiently.

Drew rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay. We'll let you guys make the first move. You're out of practice, after all," he said smugly, smirking at them. I shook my head and wondered, not for the first time, if this was how he always won battles – by provoking the enemy until they were too angry to make good choices.

Danielle seemed unaffected, dismissing his words with a wave of her hand. Diana, on the other hand, scowled and said, "Brat, you just made a big mistake. Charizard, Heat Wave!"

"Lapras, Surf!" Danielle commanded at the same time.

"Flygon!" Drew shouted as he ran out of the way of Heat Wave and Surf. I followed suit, crying, "Skitty, Ice Beam!"

Skitty hopped onto Flygon's back and they flew safely out of harm's way. Facing the simultaneous attacks, Skitty opened her mouth and shot, well, a beam of ice towards both attacks, causing the Surf to freeze solid but only making the Heat Wave evaporate into steam.

"Flygon, Dragon Pulse!"

"Flygon, Fly!" A turquoise ball appeared in front of Flygon's mouth before launching itself at Charizard.

"Charizard, Flamethrower!"

Charizard roared and shot a jet of fire at the ball, pushing it back towards Flygon and Skitty; but Drew'd already called out, "Dodge, then fly up high and come down with Aerial Ace!"

Flygon dodged the jet of flame and Dragon Pulse with ease but extravagance; she did a corkscrew up around it and launched Skitty into my arms with her tail with pin-point precision (I taught her that! Not Drew! So take that, Mr. I'm-better-than-you-at-everything!) when Skitty rolled down her back.

"Lapras, Aurora Beam!" cried Danielle, just as Diana yelled, "Charizard, Wing Attack that Flygon!"

I set Skitty on the ground and told her, "Assist."

"Nya, nya!" Skitty said cheerfully, and used Protect, encasing herself in a green dome. Just in time, too – Aurora Beam hit then and several tendrils of ice spread on the dome.

I blinked for a moment, wondering where Protect had come from before remembering that Drew and I had temporarily switched Pokemon, so Assist drew attacks from Drew's party, not mine. All the Pokemon knew us both so well that it really didn't matter who really _owned_ the Pokemon anyway.

Meanwhile, Flygon's Aerial Ace landed successfully (well, duh, it had a 100 percent success rate) but Flygon didn't manage to get out of the way before Wing Attack hit, so she was struck down with a cry of her name; but Drew quickly called out, "Flygon! Spread your wings and fly!"

Flygon did so slowly, and I scooped Skitty up and tossed her onto Flygon's back once more as Flygon swooped past us.

" Skitty, jump on Charizard's head and use Doubleslap!" I called as Flygon got closer to the still-flying Charizard.

"Nya, nya, nyaaaan!" Skitty jumped off and landed on Charizard's head, again with pin-point accuracy, and slapped Charizard across the face five times.

Charizard roared and breathed fire in pain; Skitty narrowly managed to avoid getting her tail burned.

"Lapras, Perish Song!"

"Charizard, cover your ears and get out of range!"

Charizard shook Skitty off and sped up into the sky, hands clamped on its ears. Flygon quickly caught Skitty and tried to fly out of range, but stopped short when Lapras' sweet, melancholy melody rang out. I instantly felt sad and dejected, and Flygon slowly landed on the ground, looking sad and sleepy at the same time.

When the song ended, Charizard came flying down, tucking its wings in to streamline its body. It looked like a missile, and Drew swore when it hit Flygon and, indirectly, Skitty, and spread its wings when it bounced from the impact.

"We have to do something, Drew," I said seriously. "They won't last much longer, not with the Perish Song and the damage from the headbutt."

Drew nodded, and we gave simultaneous commands. "Aim for Lapras! Assist!" yelled Drew, and I cried, "Roost!"

Skitty took a deep breath as Flygon settled down to Roost.

"Lapras, Water Pulse Skitty before it uses Assist!" Danielle cried in a panic.

Skitty let loose a Confuse Ray before Danielle even finished her sentence.

Danielle swore as Lapras got confused and used Water Pulse – on Charizard.

Charizard roared in agony as its tail almost went out and started to scratch Lapras. Lapras, still confused, used Surf, and that was that for Charizard.

Diana hurried over to her Charizard with a Max Revive and Danielle returned her Lapras.

Drew and I shared a high five. "Good match," I told Danielle. Danielle smiled and ran a hand through her hair. "Ah, I guess losing to the two top Coordinators in the region isn't the worst fate anyone's ever had," she said, a hand on her hip.

"I guess that's why you two are the best, huh?" Diana added, stroking her Charizard's head soothingly.

I laughed, said, "Of course!" and gave Flygon a hug around her neck. Drew caught Skitty, who jumped into his arms, and we congratulated them and each other.

* * *

"Drew, May, before you go to bed, I have to talk to you..." Drew and I exchanged curious glances before approaching Demelza.

"What's up, Demelza?" I asked cheerfully.

"Listen, I know you're both young and in love and all, but promise me that you won't, ah, 'do the deed' if you haven't already. I know that Mom gave you the green light, but this is serious, so no fooling around."

Drew blushed. "Demelza!" he protested. I blinked, not really understanding.

Demelza refused to be swayed. "You two are good kids. Respectable and all. But the temptation isn't easy to overcome. I'm not saying you should never do it, okay? I'm just saying, maybe you shouldn't give in to the temptation right now. Not before you say those vows at the very least. During the early days of your marriage, too, if you can help it, because you're both so _young_ – I don't want you to do anything you might regret later on."

Drew's blush was terrible. I was confused. What temptation was she talking about?

Then it clicked.

Oh. _That_ temptation.

I blushed profusely. "D-Demelza, it's fine, w-we were going to w-wait anyway," I stammered with the deepest blush in the history of deep blushes.

Demelza smiled at me like one would an adorable child. "Of course you were. But if you absolutely cannot resist the temptation, you should at least be protected." She pressed a few (as if we were going to do _that_, let alone _multiple times_!) packets of... um, a certain something into Drew's hand.

I was certain that my face could fry an egg by then.

Demelza winked. "Just in case. Don't use them all at once, okay?"

Leaving us completely and utterly mortified, she left gracefully down the hall to the room she shared with her husband.

"U-um," I said intelligently.

"Y-Yeah," replied Drew, just as intelligently.

I had a feeling neither of us would have an easy time sleeping that night.

* * *

DISCLAIMER: Don't own Pokemon. If I did, the rating would be teetering dangerously on the line between T and M and there'd be a lot of sexual innuendos. A lot.

Andrew's too not mean! In my first draft, he was too bitchy. In this one, he's not bitchy enough. He's hard to do.

Andrew's way nicer to his daughters, though. He's particularly cold to Drew. Wonder why? I know...

Guess my age! You have until the last chapter. I think there'll be about two or three more chapters and then it'll end. It'll be pretty dramatic. I think. Oh ho ho ho ho.

I have like this whole dramatic end in my head. As a preview for the next chapter, I'll tell you that Sally has a plan. Oh, she's got a plan. And Andrew gets pretty mad at Drew soon. They're not necessarily related, though. Hee. That's to make up for the long wait you're bound to have.

The site won't let me use my pretty pagebreaks anymore! T.T I loved them so, but now you have to make do with this stupid plain one. Sigh.

Well, that's it. Reviews make my day (and make me feel bad so I write faster).

Stars of Gold


	11. Confession

Engagement Troubles

By

Stars of Gold

* * *

**Chapter 10: Confession**

Drew and I were up early and were chatting in the auditorium when Seth burst in.

"Guys!" he cried, eyes wide. "My sister... my sister's told Uncle Andrew!"

Drew frowned. "Told him what?"

Seth averted his eyes. "I... We know you're not really engaged."

My eyes widened. "What? How?"

Seth shook his head. "Sally overheard you in the hall yesterday. After the contest. But that's not the main problem. She told Uncle Andrew and he's going to be furious!"

Drew said a string of very colorful words and I said a single, very powerful curse, then we gathered our wits.

"How long till he gets here?" Drew asked. Seth shook his head. "Maybe five, ten minutes? I came here the moment I heard Sally leaving her room."

"What do we do now, Drew?" I asked, biting my thumbnail anxiously.

Drew took a deep breath. "Okay. Okay. There's nothing we can do right now, so the only option is to just stand there and take it like a man."

"Not a man," I reminded him. Drew rolled his eyes. "Take it like adults, then," he amended. "But I'll get the brunt of it. The moment he yells for you to leave, leave." He turned to Seth. "Seth. Take her to Annie when she's got her things. We were headed for Lilycove City."

I blinked. "Wait. You want me to leave? Like, leave La Rousse?"

"Yes. And do me a favor; take Froslass with you. She needs the experience."

I frowned. "She can get experience with you when you come after me. Come on, Drew, it's not like you'll be put under house arrest for the rest of your life!"

Drew looked away. "My father can be brutal. He might trap me here and I don't want anyone else to suffer the same fate. I'd ask you to take all my Pokemon, but they'd probably refuse. So just take Froslass," he pressed the Pokeball in my hand, "and make sure she becomes the best that she can be."

I shook my head, still frowning. "But–"

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" roared Andrew, storming in the auditorium with Sally looking innocent behind him.

Drew didn't wince. "The meaning of what?" he asked coolly. Andrew narrowed his eyes. "Don't play dumb, boy. Why did you pretend to have a fiancee and lie to our faces about it?"

Drew inclined his head, looking cool and calm. "I didn't want to break Marianne and her fiance apart, nor did I want to be set up on blind date after blind date in hopes of finding me a suitable wife."

"Do you feel no remorse? No guilt for lying to your family just to get your inheritance? And you!" He turned to me with his finger outstretched and face an interesting shade of purple. "You dare agree to such an outrageous scheme?"

"Father," Drew interrupted. "I forced her into it. I know her weakness and exploited it."

That... hurt. He was so cold and distant, and saying that he'd exploited me like that...

It hurt.

But I told myself that Drew was lying. Lying for my sake, lying to get me set free.

"Go," growled Andrew at me, gesturing with his hand towards the door. "Now!"

I glared straight at him. "No," I said strongly. "Drew, I'm not going to leave you here alone with him."

Drew sighed. "I hoped I wouldn't have to do this," he said, smiling coldly. "Well, then, May, I just have to come clean with you."

His gaze sharpened and zeroed in on me mercilessly. "I planned to make you fall for me. Since the day I asked you to travel with me, I've wanted nothing but to get you to marry me so I could get my inheritance. I have to admit, May, I pretty much hate you. I hate everything about you: your hair, your clothes, your approach towards Pokemon – it disgusts me.

"But you know why I stuck with you?" sneered Drew. "All those other girls are too vapid and shallow. If I were to marry them, I'd never be let out of it. Even if I cheated on them like I was going to do to you, they'd forgive me. No, I needed a smart, down-to-earth girl to fall in love with me. I asked you to pretend to be my fiancee because I had gotten too caught up in trying to defeat you in contests. I was behind schedule, and my family had recalled me.

"So I planned to admit my supposed feelings for you and have you do the same while you were here. Then eventually I would have proposed, and then everything would have gone up from there. Unfortunately," he turned to glare at Sally. "This busybody had to listen in on a private conversation and ruin the whole thing."

Drew turned back to me, menacing smile firmly in place on his face. "Are you happy? Will you leave me in peace now?"

I was pretty much in shock. This information went against everything I knew. Was it true? Did Drew really hate me so much?

Then I looked in his eyes, and I knew then that...

Drew...

...was a real jerk.

* * *

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon. I own a DS and a Pokemon Diamond ROM, but not the real game or the anime or whatever.

This is just a (very) short update because I finally managed to crank something out (the entirety of this chapter was written just today in a sudden burst of inspiration) for the first time since June. And because that ending line is awesome.

In case you can't tell, this signifies the beginning of the end. The story will be ending soon. Hopefully I'll be able to end it on its birthday! ...I doubt it though, knowing my problem with procrastination. Sigh.

Also! Also, I've gotten a few reviews asking why Drew suddenly kissed May senseless in the middle of the hallway. Personally, I thought you fangirls (and fanboys) would have come to the conclusion that their overwhelming lust, well, overwhelmed them. This reasoning is not far from the truth (which is why I left it open with no explanation) but Drew's going to use the excuse that he heard Marianne coming. In actuality, it was a confession of sorts but he chickened out and blamed Marianne's footsteps.

Love,

Stars of Gold


	12. Together

Engagement Troubles

By

Stars of Gold

~P*A~G*E~B*R~E*A~K*

**Chapter 11: Together**

_Drew turned back to me, menacing smile firmly in place on his face. "Are you happy? Will you leave me in peace now?"_

_I was pretty much in shock. This information went against everything I knew. Was it true? Did Drew really hate me so much?_

_Then I saw it, and I knew then that..._

_Drew... _

_...was a real jerk._

I didn't cry. Of course I didn't. I'm not that kind of girl. I had my pride. Drew was not going to make me cry, not in this lifetime.

But still...

It hurt.

Andrew tutted at his son. "I must say, son, I underestimated you. I thought you weren't cut out for this kind of business. But if you can lie to the face of a beautiful woman and pretend to be something that you're not..." He chuckled. "Congratulations. You've become just like me."

Something in Drew's whole presence changed as he turned to look at his smirking father. "Just like you..." he repeated slowly. "Father... Have you ever considered that maybe... maybe I don't want to be just like you?"

Drew stepped forward slowly, and I knew that he had snapped.

"I don't want to become you, Father. I don't want to be mean and spiteful to my son just because he's not what I expected him to be. I don't want my friends and family to walk on eggshells around me." Drew's voice was rising with each sentence and step he took.

"I don't want to take over a business that requires me to be a ruthless backstabber! I don't want to inherit money from a man I didn't even _know_!"

Drew was face to face with his father now, and I could almost see the pent-up anger being released as he grabbed his father by the lapels and shook him.

"I don't want to be married off to someone I don't love just to get my inheritance! Hell, I don't want the inheritance!" Drew laughed a crazy, humorless laugh. "Go ahead and disown me," he hissed into his father's face. "I don't need you." He released his father and walked away, his face hard and his stride strong.

"D-Drew!" cried Sally. "No...!" She ran after him, leaving Andrew and myself alone.

"Drew..." I whispered, watching him go. I didn't follow him; I knew he was going to cry, and he hated it when people saw him cry.

Instead, I turned to Andrew furiously. "Sir, I don't claim to know anything about you, and I know you think this is none of my business, but I love Drew, and you're important to him. I don't know what happened in your past, but I know that somewhere deep down, Drew loves you. All he's ever wanted is for you to love him, and I don't know why you find it so hard to give that to your son."

"You think I didn't try?" roared Andrew, his eyes furious. "You think I didn't try to love that boy? You think I didn't hate myself every time I opposed his choices, every time I tried to deter him from his dream?"

"Then why?" I asked in a shout. "Why'd you do it?"

"Because–" Andrew began in an apoplectic rage, but a quiet voice interrupted him.

"Because Drew isn't his son."

Both our heads turned to look at Eloise, who was standing at the door, her eyes red with suppressed tears.

"W-What?" I breathed. "What do you mean?"

Eloise sighed and stepped towards us. "I mean that Drew and Andrew are not biologically related."

Andrew looked away, his hands clenching into fists.

"At the time, Andrew was always away and our marriage was on the rocks," said Eloise, choking up as the first tears started to fall. "It came to a point that... I slept with another man."

My breath hitched in my throat, and my eyes widened in realization. _Drew isn't his son_... it made sense now.

"I was so disappointed after Andrew called to say that he wasn't going to be home for our anniversary," continued Eloise, her words shaky and her tears falling freely. "And Percy was just so... so nice..."

"Drew... Drew doesn't know."

"No," sobbed Eloise, wiping her eyes with a handkerchief. "We... we couldn't tell him."

I shook my head. "Drew... Drew deserves to know. He needs to know." I ran to the doors Drew had exited from, stopping right before them to turn back to Eloise and Andrew. "Parents don't lie to their children. They don't take their hurt out on their children either."

And with that, I spun on my heel and ran out into the sunshine.

~P*A~G*E~B*R~E*A~K*

Drew was sitting in the Pokemon fields, stroking a Flaafy in his lap.

"Hey," I said softly, sitting down next to him.

"Hey," he replied, his voice scratchy.

"I... I kind of have some bad news to pass to you."

"Shoot."

"You're... You're an illegitimate child."

Drew chuckled emptily. "So you found out, huh?"

I frowned. "You... knew?"

Drew sighed and set the Flaafy down, lying back on the grass. "Percy cracked and told me the truth years ago. But... it shouldn't matter. Even if I wasn't his biological son, I was brought up as if I was. He... should have treated me like his own. But my father... He was unable to look past his jealousy, his pain; and he projected it all onto me. He was antagonizing me, and I hoped that we would be able to reconcile over the years as I matured and, hopefully, his hurt dimmed."

Drew sighed a long sigh full of hurt and longing. "No such luck, I guess."

I laid back on the grass next to him, looking up at the sky. "Well... Luck is overrated. We didn't get to the top wishing on luck."

"You did."

"Did not."

"...May?"

"Mm?"

"What I said back there... About using you? I–"

"You were lying to get me to leave. I know. But... I think your father knew you were lying."

"...What do you mean?"

"'But if you can lie to the face of a beautiful woman and pretend to be something that you're not'... 'You've become just like me'... He said those words to rile you up and expose your lie, to keep us together."

He turned his head to look at me. "Is that... what we are? Together?"

I turned my head to face him. "If together... is what you want," I said, smiling.

"Hmm," he said, looking back up at the sky. "Together... Together is good." He laced his fingers through mine comfortingly and my smile widened as I too turned my attention back to the sky.

"Then together we are."

~P*A~G*E~B*R~E*A~K*

DISCLAIMER: _If you're strong you'll survive and you'll keep your dream alive! It's the Battle Frontier! POKEMON!_

Um... Yeah, Pokemon's not mine. I love the high-energy theme songs, though!

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

This chapter was planned many, many, many, many chapters ago. I'm very eager to post it, and I know when I read it again later I'll go, "Shiiit. What cheesy crap did I make May _say_?" But right now I'm very happy because I got over a month's worth of Writer's Block and bashed this out in between reading Hana-Kimi fics. I know it's probably error-riddled because I didn't go over it with a fine-toothed comb, but I can't be bothered right now. Will go back and fix whatever you guys point out to me later when I'm procrastinating from studying for exams. D:

I'm hungry. Are you?

Review. The Force compels you!


	13. Realization

Engagement Troubles

By

Stars of Gold

~P*A~G*E~B*R~E*A~K*

**Chapter 12: Realization**

Sally watched them in hatred. They were cuddling and being so _fucking _lovey-dovey. She hated them.

No, she hated _her_. That _peasant_ who stole Drew. The bitch who had just waltzed in and charmed _Sally_'_s_ man. And he fell for it hook, line and sinker. He was going to _marry_ her!

No. Sally wouldn't let that happen. No way. There was no way she was going to let _this_ one go.

"It was a lie," she growled out, her hand diving into her pocket as she attracted Drew and May's attention. "It was all supposed to be a lie! Your being together– it was fake! It wasn't real!"

"It was real," said Drew softly, standing up and facing Sally, cautious for some reason. "We just... never realized."

Immediately, Sally's rage escalated tremendously. Those words...!

"No!" Sally bit out. "No. This– I won't let this happen!"

"Please–" May began.

"Shut up, bitch!" Sally snarled at May, pulling a pocket knife and unfolding it with a push of a button. The soft 'shnick' of the blade as it popped out brought a grin to Sally's face. There was no way in hell she was going to let this happen. Not again.

"Sally! What's gotten into you?" Drew demanded, stepping forward to protect May almost instinctively. He never let go of her hand even as he did so, and that just pissed Sally off even further. "That's dangerous!"

"No shit, Sherlock," Sally said with a mocking smile as she advanced step by step. "Why do you think I brought it out? Leave her, Drew. Leave her, or I swear I'll kill her."

Drew raised his head, staring down at Sally stubbornly. "You'll have to go through me first."

Sally narrowed her eyes, her lips pursed into a thin white line. "So be it," she said coldly, harshly. "If I can't have you, no one can!"

She lunged for Drew, so quickly neither Drew nor May had any time to even move. She grinned a twisted grin. After they'd died, Drew would surely go to heaven, and the filthy peasant would surely go to hell. Once Sally was sure they had died, she would join her Drew in eternal life, where no whore could steal him away ever again.

Sally felt the blade in her hand stab into flesh and her mind snapped back into the present. Who had she killed first, Drew or May?

A low baritone voice that was most decidedly _not_ May nor Drew growled from above her head, "Stay away from my son!"

Then there were familiar arms restraining her, and Sally thrashed and kicked as hard as she could. "Let me go, Seth!" she screeched, turning her head backwards to glare at her traitorous twin. "I have to do this! Let me go! I won't let this happen again! I won't!"

"This isn't the same, Sally," Seth said softly. He was upset, and somehow that made Sally angrier. "Drew isn't Logan."

Seth's face was blurred for some reason, and Sally was angry. She wanted justice! Seth of all people should understand that! "I don't care!" she spat back viciously, feeling wetness on her cheeks and cursing herself for it. "LET ME GO!"

Seth turned her around and hugged her tightly, and Sally felt all the fight drain out of her at the simple gesture. She broke down, sobbing as she wound her arms around Seth and fisted her hands in his shirt. Her knees gave way, but Seth held her up, strong and firm.

"I'm sorry," she whispered into his shoulder.

"I know," said Seth quietly. "I know."

Then the world went black, and Sally let herself go, knowing that her brother was there to keep her safe.

~P*A~G*E~B*R~E*A~K*

"So be it," said Sally, her eyes furious and almost crazy. "If I can't have you, no one can!"

Then she lunged for us, and I knew that we were definitely dead. There was no way either of us was going to be able to dodge the attack in time. This... this was a time for last words.

I gripped Drew's hand in mine tightly and stepped forward to put us on even ground. "I love you," I said softly, and by then Sally's arm was coming down in a swift arc. I braced myself, closed my eyes, for some reason _didn't_ experience my life flashing before my eyes, which I found strange, and then there was the sound of the blade slipping into fragile human flesh, a sound I will carry with me till the day I die.

My first thought was of Drew. I wasn't hurt, or at least I didn't think so, so the sound must have been...

I opened my eyes and stared, gaping, at the Andrew's back.

"Stay away from my son!" he growled threateningly, though there was an unmistakable tone of pain in his voice.

"D-Dad," said Drew, as if in shock. Andrew swayed on his feet for a little while, then his legs gave way. Drew caught him, and I could only look on in shock at the sight of the knife sticking out of Andrew's abdomen.

"Dad," Drew whispered, actually crying now. If it weren't so serious an issue, I would have taken a picture. "No. Dad."

"I– I'll get help!" I stuttered once I managed to figure out what to do with myself. I ran as quickly as I could, barely even noticing Seth and Sally a few feet away. Andrew loved his son, even if he wasn't really _Andrew's_ son. For Drew to lose that... would be like hell.

I ran faster.

~P*A~G*E~B*R~E*A~K*

Three hours. It was only three hours later that I could breathe again. Eloise and her children dashed into the ward as soon as the doctors allowed them to see Andrew. I stayed outside since I wasn't a relative.

"He okay?"

I looked up to see Seth coming towards me, looking tired and sad. "I'm sorry that Sally did all this. She's sorry, too."

I wasn't ready to forgive her. Not when she'd just tried to kill Drew and I. "She should come and say it herself," I said harshly, crossing my arms. "What's her deal?"

Seth sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he sat down on the bench next to me. "Sally and I... we've had _things_ happen in our past," he said vaguely, hesitantly. "Not many know this about us, but I think you deserve to know, after... after all this."

I was curious. "Go on."

Seth took a deep breath. "Right. Well... you know our dad, Alan?" I vaguely remembered a nervous, slightly overweight man sitting next to the twins at dinner and nodded. "Right, the truth is... he isn't our biological dad."

What was it with this place and not having biological fathers?

"See, our first dad, he... he was bad news. Mom used to be really busy, always working and everything. She used to leave us with him, and when she did... it was bad." Seth's eyes darkened as if remembering something unpleasant, but before I could even try to comfort him, he continued, "He used to... _do_ _things_ to us. Like... like _touch_ us." Seth looked at me meaningfully and I felt my jaw drop in disbelief.

"Yeah," said Seth, looking at the ground. "Mom found out after a while, and she immediately kicked his ass to the curb. But by then... he'd already forced himself on us. We... we found it hard to trust anyone after that, and most people left us alone, but there was a pair of friends, a boy and a girl, who somehow managed to worm their way into our lives.

"They were the closest to us, and they helped us heal. The boy was closer to Sally, and I got close to the girl. They were our best friends after each other, and Sally fell for the boy, hard, when we were ten. I... fell just as hard for the girl when we were eleven. They seemed to like us back, really, and we... we fooled around a bit, and they helped us get over all our... issues... even though they didn't know about it.

"Then one summer, they went to some sort of camp. Sally and I were bored and missing them, but when they came back..."

"...They were together," I finished breathlessly, vaguely remembering Sally saying something about "not again." Seth smiled sadly. "Yes. They were. They said that they had never realized before how much they loved each other."

"_It was all supposed to be a lie! Your being together– it was fake! It wasn't real!"_

"_It was real. We just... never realized."_

And Sally seemed so much angrier after that... I finally understood _why_.

Seth didn't seem to notice my epiphany and continued his story, "Sally... took it pretty hard. She would want to hunt them down and call them and just bitch to them, but I wouldn't let her. It wasn't worth it, I told her. Those scumbags weren't worth it."

"And you?" I asked gently.

Seth laughed bitterly. "Me? I lived with it. Hell, I'm _still_ living with it. But Sally... she always got the brunt of our biological father's attacks. She was prettier than me, and when I tried to protect her, he'd punish me by punishing her. She... she really opened her heart to the guy, Logan, and he didn't realize how deeply she trusted him. He broke her heart, and maybe even her soul. We moved away after the... incident. Mom knew _something_ happened, but she didn't pry.

"When we moved in here, Drew was really nice to Sally and I. He took the time to get to know her. They became friends. She told him what happened with Logan, cheating on her and all, but not about our biological father. He comforted her, and he became her rebound crush."

Yeah, that sounded like Drew. Being all nice under that arrogant exterior. Closet romantic, that boy.

"He left to become a Coordinator before anything could happen. Sally wanted to follow him, but I wouldn't, and she refused to go anywhere without me," Seth shrugged. "And... here we are. She never really got over him, even after all this time."

"Is she... okay?" I asked hesitantly.

"She's seeing the shrink right now," Seth said darkly, narrowing his eyes. "I just... I should have been able to see this coming. I should have been able to stop her before it got this far. She's my _twin_, my other _half_, I...!"

"Hey," I interrupted him gently. "It's okay. I don't blame you. It's not your fault. How could you have known that she was so..." I searched for a word, but failed miserably. I didn't want to offend him, but I couldn't find a word that conveyed my meaning without being too mean.

"Psycho?" Seth suggested, laughing bitterly. "Yeah, well... I still should have seen it coming."

"May," said Drew quietly as he stepped out of the hospital ward. I stood as I turned to him. "Is he okay?"

"He wants to see you," said Drew, but he was smiling a little, so I figured it couldn't be too bad. I nodded and waved a goodbye to Seth, who sent me a weak smile in return.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the hospital ward to see the man who had saved my life.

~P*A~G*E~B*R~E*A~K*

DISCLAIMER: Satoshi Tajiri was not killed in the Japan earthquake/tsunami (thank god), so no, the rights to Pokemon have not passed on to me. Yeah.

This... was supposed to wrap things up. I swear to God, this was supposed to be the epilogue. It was supposed to be totally normal and fluffy and pretty pointless. It wasn't supposed to become so... angsty. I don't know. I was in the bathroom. This popped into my brain. Sally's passiveness bugged me a little, I guess.

I'M SORRY FOR LEAVING THIS ALONE FOR SO LONG! I fail.

I shall reveal now that I am actually **–drumroll –** 15 years old! Yay! I was 13 when I started this.I left it alone for so long, I aged two years in the process. xD

Yes. That's done. Congrats to Escarlatina who guessed it right, and to an anon reviewer gee gee, who I suspect to be a friend from school...

Will update soon, hopefully. (That means probably not.) Review anyway to nag me on how long I let this fic collect dust!

Love,

Stars of Gold


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